Target: Neji
by xdestinyxforeverx
Summary: THIS IS SEQUAL TO TARGET:TENTEN. READ THAT ONE FIRST! Hiashi escapes from jail. Who's he after this time? Neji soon leaves Tenten, claiming he doesn't love her anymore. Breaking Tenten's heart, was this his intentions all along? What is Neji hiding?
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

"H-Hey!" I ran down the beachy shores, my cold bare feet pounding against the icy waters.

"Chase me!" I shouted and laughed as I kept running. All of a sudden I tripped and fell down. "Ow!" I screamed. He quickly ran over to me.

"Jeez, Ten-chan. You're such a klutz…" He walked over bend down next to me. I turned over and flung my hair over my shoulder. I pouted.

"N-Neji-kun… you really think I'm a klutz?" I gave him a puppy dog face. Neji's eyebrow twitched.

"Yes." He responded and put a band aid over my knee. "But, I love you anyways…" He muttered and shut his eyes. I smiled brightly.

"Aw, I love you too, Neji-kun! Now, let's swim!" I stood and pulled his hand as we slowly made way into the water. Neji shivered at the cold touch of the water. I giggled and grabbed onto his arm. "You know how to swim, right?"

"Yeah." He responded.

"Alright." I looked away and threw water at him. "Water fight!" He let the water hit his gorgeous face. Water dripped down slowly as hair clung to his face. I blushed.

"That's kind of immature…" He smirked. I rolled my eyes and treaded water when I swam back to the shore. "Hey wait… Tenten." He called my name and grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back into the water.

"What do you want, Mr. Oh-That's-Immature?" He smirked, as I tried to keep an angry face. I stared into his beautiful eyes and it seemed like my anger was being drained away.

"Kiss me." My brows furrowed and I smirked.

"Make me…" I grinned. He held me closer to him so that my hands were placed tightly against his chest.

"I won't make you, but, when I said kiss me… my dear Tenten, it was an order." He growled possessively and claimed my lips. My eyes shut and I leaned towards him to get a better angle of his lips. He smirked as I pulled away. I blushed slightly and smiled at him. He kissed my forehead and carried me bridal style and placed me on the towel underneath our umbrella. I looked up at him as he stood and looked down at me.

I got a beautiful view of his abs. I looked at his face which was showing off a wide grin. I blushed and looked away. He sat down next to me.

"Tenten, I'm not the only beautiful one. You don't have to stare." He smirked.

_Cocky… son of a…_ "Excuse me?" I looked at him.

"You're beautiful too." He muttered quietly and looked at me. I blushed as I hugged his arm.

"Thanks, Neji!" I looked down at his stomach as I saw a red line. "Is that the scar?" I asked. He nodded. "From the bullet… Hiashi-sama gave you, right?" He nodded again. "Does it hurt?" He shook his head.

"It's fine." He smirked. "Thank god he's in jail… cause he won't be causing us anymore trouble, hm?" He whispered into my ear. I shivered as he kissed me on the lips gently. "Damn, Tenten… you don't know what you do to me…" As he pulled away. I smiled.

"Tenten! Neji!" I heard Shikamaru yell as he ran towards us. Neji threw on a shirt and threw my shirt at me.

"Hm?" Neji growled at me.

"No one sees your body except me…" He growled possessively. I rolled my eyes and threw on the t shirt. I then stood and waved at Shikamaru.

"Hey! What's up?" I called to him. Neji stood up next to me.

"Yo." He called. Shikamaru's eyes widened.

"Why are you guys out here like this? It's not safe!" I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Shikamaru's eyebrow rose.

"Don't tell me you don't know…" Shikamaru's shoulder dropped. I shook my head and looked at Neji. He shook his head as well. "Hiashi…"

"What about him?" I asked. Neji's eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah. What about my uncle…" Shikamaru shook his head.

"I can't believe you two don't know. I figured Tsunade would have told you two first." Neji grabbed his shoulders and shook him.

"Out with it, Shikamaru." He shook him violently.

"Neji, stop!" I caught his arm. He let got of Shikamaru. "Now, what happened?" Shikamaru placed a hand over his forehead and groaned.

"Hiashi. He's… gone." Shikamaru said quietly.

"What?" I asked. Could it be? Hiashi's gone? Maybe my hearing was bad. Neji took my hand in his.

"Hiashi's gone?" I looked up at him. He was sweating, maybe even shaking a little. He was inhaling loudly and exhaling faster. He nodded.

"He broke out of jail this morning." Shikamaru responded. "He got out of the jail some how, and now he's out somewhere here in Konoha, on the loose." Shikamaru placed a hand on my shoulder. "He could still be after you, Tenten." He looked at Neji. "Or after you, Neji. I suggest both of you stay together. I have to go." He responded and started to run off.

"Sh-Shikamaru!" I shouted his name. He turned around. "Thanks for the warning!" I tried to smile as he nodded and ran off. I stared at Neji. He had a blank expression in his face. I touched his cheek, and it was icy cold. "Neji?" I called his name. He shook his head.

"It can't be possible. How could he… get out?!" Neji's grasp around my hand tightened.

"Ow!" I shouted as I pulled away. Neji grabbed his head as he fell to his knees in front of me. I kneeled in front of him and took hold of his shoulders. "Calm down. He doesn't know where we are…"

"The tracker. I still have it…" My eyes widened. "He can still track me, Tenten. It's not safe…" He pulled my arm and threw me on his back. "We have to get home as soon as possible."

"Home? Mine?" I asked. He shook his head.

"You're going to be staying with me for a while…" Neji responded. I nodded.

"Alright." I responded. We jumped through the woods and towards Neji's apartment when we crashed into Sasuke. He stared at us. "Hey Sasuke!" I called to him.

"Did you guys hear?" He asked. Neji nodded.

"Hiashi got out. Do you know anything about it?" Neji asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"Not much. I don't know anything actually. He's still in Konoha. Neji, Tenten. You shouldn't be out in the streets… You should go somewhere safer." He offered. Neji shook his head.

"I have a tracker. It won't matter." Neji responded. "He'll still find me."

"Then why take Tenten along with you?" Sasuke asked. "If he can track you down, and you two are together, wouldn't that make an easier target out of both of you?"

"…" Neji was silent. Sasuke shook his head.

"Nevermind. Just… make sure nothing happens to you two." Sasuke responded and headed towards the opposite direction from us.

_He's right… _Neji thought. _As long as Tenten's with me, I'm putting her in danger…_ He looked at me as I was looking around. _But… I can't separate myself from her… _

**-Somewhere out of Konoha-**

_Stupid fools. Still thinking I'm in Konoha… _Hiashi smirked as he ran back to his head quarters. He ran quickly into his room and pulled out his phone. "Hello. This is Hyuga Hiashi."

"**Yes?"**

"I hear you're a pretty good tracker."

"**You hear right. What can I do for you?"**

"I'd like you to work for me. I'll provide all you need."

"**Mhm hm.. And? What exactly do I have to do?"**

"I would like you to track someone down for me."

"**Just someone?"**

"Yes. Just someone…"

"**Give me the name. And I'll be after the target in no time."**

_Good. _"Well, then I want you after-" He whispered.

"**That's fine. I'll be after this target in no time. Meanwhile, I'd like you to call me Misaki."**

**-Konoha-**

"Wake up. Tenten. I said wake up." My eyes shot open as I laid on Neji's bed. I looked around his apartment. Memories flooded into my mind. When Neji tried to kill me before… when he admitted that he loved me too much to kill me. I smiled as I heard Neji running through things in his drawers.

"What are you doing?" I asked. He ignored me and threw some clothes.

"Wear that." He responded. I nodded quickly and ran into the bathroom and changed into a very long t shirt. It went to my knees. "It's a little big, and-"

"Here." He threw a sash at me. "Just tie it around your waist for now, okay? We'll go back to your house later and get your clothes." I nodded, not arguing. He rummaged through his desk and finally pulled out a box.

"What's that?" I asked. He sat on the bed across from me and put the box in front of us. He opened it and held a shiny silver- "Gun… Wh-Why the HELL do you have a gun?!"

"I used to be a hired killer, Tenten." He pulled out another and handed it to me. I shook my head. "Take it, Tenten. You need this for protection…" I sighed and took it. He clenched his fists, and pulled out a bunch of knives. My face brightened as I took them in my hand.

"So cool!" I responded. "Can I have them?" They were assorted with tiny knives. "Can I?" I asked quieter. He nodded but took them back.

"Yes, but only if you do me this favor…" He said quietly.

"Yeah?" I asked excitedly. "Anything!" He smirked.

"Get it out of me now." He responded.

"What?" I asked and raised an eyebrow.

"Get the stupid tracker out of my wrist now." He threw the knives all in a pack at me and held out his wrist. "You said anything. Now do it."

"…" I was silent. _No. I can't. _I couldn't. It would injure him, and it would require stitching, and-

"Do it, Tenten. You said you would." Neji growled at me. I nodded but then shook my head and held my hand.

"I can't, Neji. I can't do it." I responded. He took my wrist and held them in his hands.

"Yes you can…" He responded. "You can do it."

"It will hurt you, Neji-kun!" I shouted at him. He smirked and nodded.

"I know." He responded. He shut his eyes. "It's pretty small. So listen. Take the knife and make one slit in my wrist. Then take these, and pull them out. Stitch my wrist back up after. Understand?" He handed me tweezers, string and a needle. My hands shook. "Can you do it?" He touched my cheek tenderly. I shivered and then nodded.

"T-Tell me… if it hurts, alright?" He nodded and held his hand to me. I took the small knife and gently moved it into his skin as I glided it across his wrist. There it was. Not too deep, I gulped and pulled it out. Neji grinned at me.

"There it is." He smirked. I quickly stitched him up. "Not that bad, huh?" I wiped my forehead and cleaned the blood off his arm and off the tools. "The knives are yours." I smiled and hugged him.

"Did it hurt?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Are you crying?" He asked. I shook my head.

"I said I wouldn't anymore. I won't cry anymore…" I smiled and hugged him. He held the chip in his hands. "What are you going to do with it?" I asked. He shrugged an then grinned.

"This." He responded and took a small knife and carved into the tracker. NxT

"Hm?" I looked at it.

"Neji and Tenten." He responded and kissed me on the forehead again. I blushed. He carved it in deeply so that I saw electric shocks and wires cut in half by it. He quickly threw it out the window and into the trees. "We should be safe now… okay?" He asked. I nodded.

_You'll never be safe… _

"Huh?" I looked around.

"What's wrong?" Neji asked. I shook my head.

"I heard something, that's all…"

_You heard something alright. You'll be hearing my voice for a while…_

_Who are you?" _I thought. The voice smirked.

_Just… a somebody. I'm just a somebody, Tenten… If you know what's good for you, stay away from Neji Hyuga._

_Why? _I thought again as I shook my head.

_You might want to do it for your own sake…_

_My own sake? _I started to shake.

"Tenten?" Neji called my name.

_Yeah. Your own sake. You wouldn't want to die now… would you, Tenten?_

"Who are you?" I spoke out loud. Neji grabbed my shoulders.

"Tenten, who are you talking to?" I looked into his eyes and blinked.

"I heard voices in my head…" I mumbled. "It was talking to me. A female voice."

"… What did she say?" He asked. I scratched my head.

"Well, that I wasn't safe… and that I had to stay away from him, unless I wanted to die." I responded. Neji looked shocked but it only showed in his eyes. He quickly looked away and stood and scratched his head.

"Alright…" Neji said quietly. "You get some shut eye. I'll be back later."

"Neji, it's 5 pm…" I responded quietly. Neji sighed and turned on the tv.

"Entertain yourself. I'll be back…" Neji grunted and shut the door behind him. I sighed and leaned against his pillow, as I waited for Neji to return.

**-x-x-x-x-**

"Tsunade." Neji walked into the building. Tsunade looked up and smiled.

"Hello, Neji. What do you need?" She asked. Neji looked away.

"Is it really okay for me and Tenten to stay here?" He asked. "We're endangering-"

"It's fine." She responded quickly. "I know Hiashi escaped."

"I don't know who he's after. He may still be after Tenten. Or he may be after me." Neji looked down. "Any ways, Tenten's had a voice speaking to her in her head. I think it may be a hired killer. Knowing Hiashi, he would have already contacted a killer… So I'm afraid that the killer is now after her…"

"You should not assume." Tsunade responded and threw a sheet of paper into the trash can. "Go back. You should stay by Tenten's side, always." Neji nodded and left.

**-x-x-x-x-**

_Neji, you're so stupid… _I thought as I curled inside the blankets. _Why'd you leave me here alone?_ I heard the door rattling. I shot up immediately. "Neji-kun?" I called as I sat up. The door kept on rattling. "Neji…?" I stood from the bed and walked towards the door. It kept on rattling. "Is that you, Neji?" No response. The door suddenly stopped rattling, and a click sound was made. My body shivered as I felt my blood turn ice cold. I stood as still as I could, as the door started to open.

The knob started to turn and then the door was pushed slowly. I could hear the soft creaking off the door hinges. My eyes widened as the person that stood before me was none other than another hired killer.

"Wh-Who are you?!" I shouted. The person had a dark coat on, dark shades, and tall black boots with buckles in the front. The person dropped the pick lock and pulled out a gun and faced it at me.

_Sh-Shit! _I thought and gulped. "Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm a hired killer." It was a girl… She responded quietly. "Misaki."

"Did Hiashi hire you?!" I shouted at her. She smirked.

"Do you go by the name Neji?" She asked. I bit my lip.

"No." I said quietly.

"Are you associated with Neji?" She asked again. I inhaled and then spoke.

"Yes." I responded. Her smirk widened as I heard her scoff.

"Well, even if you aren't Neji, I'm afraid you will have to die." She shot the bullet as I quickly ducked.

"Why are you after Neji?!" I shouted as I rolled on the ground dodging another gun shot. I landed on my knees looking up at her as her gun pointed to my head.

"I believe you don't have to know. You stayed with Neji Hyuga, correct? For your own sake, you should've left him while you still had the chance. If you treasured your life, you would have heed those words…" My eyes widened.

"You're the…"

**-**

**-**

**-**

**-**

**First Chapter of Target: Neji down! How's it so far? Hopefully, it's not rushed.**

**And, I hope all you readers are looking forward to chapter two. XD**

**Review please! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

"Voice…" I mumbled quietly. "You're that voice!" I shouted. She smirked.

"You recognize me, hm?" Misaki smirked. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. I wished to resolve this without having to kill anyone, but, it's not like you matter. Good bye, Tenten." The door opened.

"Tenten, I'm bac-" Neji froze… "What?" Neji growled. "Who are you?" She pulled the gun away from my head and put it in her pocket. She took off her glasses.

"I'm Misaki." She responded slowly. "You're Neji, right?" She walked towards him. He growled.

"Yeah. What do you want from me? What did you do to Tenten?" She smirked and stood in front of him.

"I did nothing to her, now… come with me, Hyuga-kun…" She winked at him. Neji's face remained expressionless. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a gun. "My, my, are we feisty…"

"What do you want?" Neji asked. She put the glasses back on.

"You." She responded.

"What do you want with me, then…" Neji rephrased his question. She looked at her fingers.

"Hm, not sure actually." She responded.

"Then get out of here, before I kill you." Neji growled.

"Then again, I can kill the girl right now…" She walked towards him and whispered in his ears. "as long as Tenten and you are together, her life will always be in danger." Neji froze. "Well, I will await my next orders. Until next time, Hyuga-kun…" She blew him a kiss and pulled out her gun aiming it at the window. She shot the bullet and as the glass shattered she jumped out. Neji growled and ran towards the window as the wind blew in. He then turned and ran, kneeling in front of me.

**-No POV-**

"Tenten, are you alright? Did she harm you in anyway?" Neji held Tenten's shoulder. She shook quickly.

"I'm fine…" She responded quietly. Neji pulled her in closely.

"She's the killer…" Neji responded. _And she wants me to follow her… Why? _He thought.

"H-Hiashi?!" Tenten nearly shouted. "You think he's behind this?!" Neji nodded. She shuddered and clung onto Neji's shirt tighter. "I'm scared for you, Neji…" He smirked.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Tenten…" He answered. "I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you. She was just ready to kill you, Tenten, because we were together."

"So?" She asked looking up at him.

"I'll have to keep a closer watch on you, Ten-chan." He kissed her forehead and tucked her in bed.

"I'm not tired…" Tenten replied as she looked up into Neji's eyes. He smirked down at her.

"You are, Tenten." He replied and climbed in the bed next to her. "Good night." He responded. Tenten sat up.

"Aren't you going to fix the window?" She asked. Neji sat up and took some tape and taped it shut.

"Night, Tenten." He climbed in bed again and was quiet. Tenten soon fell asleep…

"_As long as Tenten and you are together, her life will always be in danger." _Misaki's words kept coming into Neji's head, replaying over and over again. _As long as me and Tenten are together… She's always going to be in danger… _Neji shook his head quickly._ no, I will protect her. She will never be in danger again… I won't allow it._ Neji turned over and looked at Tenten. She was sleeping peacefully, as Neji stroked her hair.

"Neji…" She mumbled and snuggled against his chest. Neji sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist and shut his eyes, falling asleep.

**-Next Morning-**

"Wake up, Neji. Neji-kun?" Tenten awoke and gently stroked Neji's cheek. "You awake?" He mumbled quietly. "Hm?" She questioned and smiled down at him.

"Tenten? What the hell are you wearing?" He asked and rubbed his eyes.

"Your t-shirt…" She responded. "The one you gave me yesterday got dirty, so, I borrowed another one. You don't mind, right?" She grinned. Neji sighed. The shirt was a little small on him, so it fit almost perfect. Tenten got up from the bed and reached to tie her hair up in a bun when the shirt rose up… Neji blushed.

"Tenten!" He shouted her name. She looked at him and dropped her arms.

"Yeah?" She asked and walked towards him and sat down in next to him, smiling. "What is it Neji?"

"I prefer if you wore a bigger shirt." Neji adjusted his voice. "It's a little short." He muttered. Tenten grinned.

"I know." She responded as she bent down and pulled the shirt down a little, then grinned back at him. "Better?" Neji rolled his eyes and sighed and got out of bed. "W-Well, I prefer if you at least HAD shirt on!" He rubbed his forehead and sighed again.

"It's not polite to stare..." He smirked and walked into the bathroom.

"Jerk…" Tenten muttered and looked into his drawers for clothes. "Ah! Here!" She pulled out a pair of shorts and slipped them on, and then nodded. "Yes! This will do!" Neji came out with a towel around his neck.

"Why are you making so much noise…" Neji scratched at his head and stared at Tenten. "What… are you doing?" He stared at her as she continued to search through his clothes.

"I needed a pair of pants." She mumbled quickly. "Now I'm looking for a shirt…" She responded. Neji sighed and walked over and shut the drawer holding her wrists with one hand.

"Don't look through my pants, Tenten…" He muttered. Tenten smirked.

"Aww, you don't want me to see your boxers?" She grinned as Neji blushed slightly. "I saw them already!" She shouted and laughed. Neji exhaled. "I liked the one with-"

"I don't want to hear it. Come on." He pulled her through the door.

"Put on a shirt, Neji!" She shouted. Neji walked back into his apartment and threw on a black tank top.

"Better, Tenten?" Neji smirked and walked away.

"Y-Yeah!" She shouted, and ran after him. "Where are we going anyways?"

"We're going to go to your place." He responded. "Say hi to your mom, change your clothes, and meet me at Tsunade's, alright? Pack some clothes too…" She nodded.

"Alright." She responded and ran off.

-**x-x-x-x- Tenten's POV-x-x-x-x-**

"Hey mom!" I ran in.

"Where were you last night, young lady?" She asked.

"Neji's house." I responded.

"WHAT?" She nearly jumped off from the couch.

"Nah, nothing like that, mom. I just decided to sleep there cause I was too tired to come home…" I grinned sheepishly. She raised an eyebrow at me.

"He lives right next door, Ten-chan…" She responded.

"Oh whatever, mom." I smiled.

"Wait! Are you wearing Neji's clothes?" She asked. I stopped at the stairs.

"Yeah… My clothes got dirty." I grinned and ran up the stairs. I quickly ran through my drawers and pulled out a tank top. I slid it on and was ready to take off the shorts I borrowed from Neji, when I shrugged and decided kept them on. I threw some clothes in a bag and ran down the stairs. "Mom! I'm gonna go hang out with Neji! I'll be back later, love you!" I ran out. My mom shook her head smiling and kept on cooking.

"Tenten." I turned around and saw Neji waiting for me in front of my house.

"Hey! I thought you were gonna be at Tsunade's…" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I decided to wait for you." He eyed my pants. "I thought you were going to change." I shrugged.

"Your pants are comfortable…" I said quietly. He sighed. "So why did we have to pack clothes?"

"We're leaving Konoha for a bit."

"What?!" I shouted loudly. Neji looked at me.

"It's for our own safety…" Neji said quietly. "Your mom's, and Konoha's."

"Why? Is this because of that Misaki?" I growled. "I can easily kill her!" I shouted. Neji shook his head.

"We don't want to kill her, but then again, we don't want her killing us. I don't want her near your mother, even though… she's after me."

"She's after you?!"

"Stop shouting. And yes, she's after me. Think about Konoha… It will be safer, and for your mother too. I know she's not after you but…" Neji paused. _"As long as Tenten and you are together, her life will always be in danger." _Misaki's words played in Neji's head as he shook the thought away quickly. "Come on. We'll be visiting Gaara. It'll be cool, alright?" I looked at him and picked up my phone.

"I have to call my mom…"

"… Why?" Neji asked.

"I'm leaving with you to visit Gaara, right?" I smiled at him. "I need to tell her where I'm gonna be." I grinned. "Or else she'll be thinking other things if I don't come home. She already thought that something happened yesterday." He smirked at me.

"Hello?"

"Hey mom! It's Tenten. Uhm, I'm not gonna be home tonight or any other night for a while…" I scratched my head. She was silent.

"What's going on, Ten-chan?" She asked. I paused.

_I can't let her get hurt. Neji's right. She got hurt by Hiashi. And I don't want that happening anymore… _"Uh, nothing really. I'm just going to visit my friends down there…"

"Alright… I want you to be responsible, alright?" I sighed.

"I'll be with Neji. It'll be fine." I responded. "I gotta go now, miss you already."

"Call me everyday, alright?" I sighed louder. "Tenten…" Her voice more strict.

"Fine, fine." I scratched my head.

"School's gonna start soon, you only have a couple of weeks left, so you should be home, right?" She asked. I shrugged and looked at Neji, who nodded.

"We'll be home before school starts, mom. Love you." I hung up and shoved my phone back in my pocket. "Alright. It's okay with my mom." I smiled at him. He smirked and took my hand; fingers intertwined.

"Neji. Tenten." Tsunade greeted us. We bowed down. "Are you leaving Konoha right now?" Neji nodded.

"It's alright with Tenten's mom." Neji explained. "Until you or until we catch Misaki… we'll be out of Konoha." Neji responded. I nodded.

"Really…" Tsunade started. "That's a big sacrifice. School, friends, parents…"

"I don't have any." Neji responded coldly. "And Tenten's mom said it was alright. Come on, now." He pulled my hand and dragged me out the door. We started for Sunagakure (Village Hidden Among Sand). We made it there in 7 hours, not including our stops.

"Damn…" I moaned. "My legs are so tired… I don't think I can walk anymore!" I complained. Neji looked at me and shook his head.

"We're here, Tenten." Neji muttered quietly. I stood immediately and ran. "Wh-Where are you going?!" Neji shouted, running after me.

"Gaara's office!" I shouted while running. "They should have water!!" I ran faster. Neji sighed…

**-Gaara's Office-**

"Exactly. No. I don't want that." I heard Gaara's voice outside the door.

"Knock, first, Tenten." Neji panted along with me. I glared at him and knocked.

"… come in…" We walked in.

"Gaara!" I shouted and ran over. "Water… do you have any?" Gaara nodded and pointed to an untouched, pure looking, clear glass of water. I chugged it down immediately.

"Thanks for asking if I wanted any…" Neji strolled in. I looked at him.

"Sorry…" I mumbled. Neji shook his head.

"Gaara, do you mind me and Tenten staying here for a while?" Neji asked. Gaara raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you want to stay here…" Gaara asked slowly.

"Someone's after us, and we needed to stay out of Konoha for a while… you don't mind us staying here, right?"

"And endanger our own-"

"Tenten!!" I heard someone shout my name as I turned around. It was Temari. Before I could say anything, she ran over and hugged me. "Aw man, I missed you! I thought I heard your voice from outside!" I grinned.

"I missed you too!" I smiled and pulled away as Temari grabbed my hand.

"Come on, I want to show you around."

"B-But, wait- I mean- Neji?!" I looked at him.

"It's fine. Go, Tenten…" Neji responded and scratched his head.

"Gaara, can she stay with us?" Temari asked. Gaara glared at her, and Temari glared back. "Please, Gaara-ni?" She begged. Gaara sighed and shut his eyes.

"Only for a couple of days." He mumbled. Temari took it for a yes.

"Come on!" She dragged me out the door.

"Thanks." Neji muttered. "It means… a lot to me." Neji rubbed his forehead.

"Tell me what's going on." Gaara leaned on his hand.

"Someone's after me." Neji muttered quickly. "And it's endangering Konoha. And… Tenten too. You know hired killers, right? Well… one of them's after me. I used to be one too, but I quit after I met Tenten. Hiashi, my uncle, my boss, hired a new one after breaking free from Konoha's jail. The killer, Misaki told me that it's not safe for Tenten to be around me, and that it's endangering her life. I don't know what to do…" Neji mumbled the rest.

"Well, you know what you have to do." Gaara said quietly. Neji looked at Gaara intently. "There is only one way to not endanger her, Hyuga Neji. Figure it out for yourself." Neji looked down. "Your room is down the hall." Neji nodded.

"Thanks." He muttered and left. He laid on his bed and shut his eyes. _"Well, you know what you have to do." _"I don't, Gaara. What do I have to do?!" Neji shouted in frustration and growled.

**-Temari and Tenten-**

"This is your room?" I nearly shouted. It was beautiful. The walls were painted a cream color, and the rug was a nice green shade. The window gave off a great view of the place. "It's awesome!"

"Haha, yeah." She laughed. I smiled and scratched my head.

"I'm so… stressed." I muttered and sat on the rug and leaned against the wall.

"Alright, tell me everything." Temari jumped on her bed and leaned on both her hands, laying on her stomach.

"I don't know where to start… oh wait. Okay. So Hiashi got out of jail…" I continued to tell my story.

"You gotta be kidding me!" She shouted when I finished. I shook my head. "That jerk got out of jail?" I nodded. "Damn… and then, now this killer is after who?" I placed a finger on my lip and then responded.

"I think Neji…" Temari nodded and then placed a hand under her chin.

"That is tough." She responded finally. "But, you're here, and it's alright. Gaara will protect you!" She grinned. "And I know, Neji will too." She smiled at me and stood, stretching. "Alrighty, I bet Neji's gonna look for you soon anyways, so let's get you to your room." I nodded and stood. She brought me to the room and left me there.

**Knock…**

"Neji?" I called his name. He didn't respond. I opened the door to find him sleeping on the bed, hands behind his head, window and shades closed and down. The lights were off, but, I knew it was Neji. I shut the door behind me. The door shutting woke Neji up. He shot up from the bed and looked around.

"Tenten?" I heard Neji call my name.

"Yeah, I'm here…" I walked over to Neji and sat next to him. He was sweating. "Are you alright?" I touched his forehead as he pulled away.

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine." He muttered and walked to the bathroom, leaving me sitting there.

_What did I do? _I thought as he soon walked out. "Neji, I'm sorry." He looked up at me.

"For what?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know. But, I'm just sorry." I responded and stood. I quickly embraced him.

"Why are you apologizing. You did nothing. Come on." He pulled me out the door. "Let's go…" _I know what I have to do. It hurts me a lot… but, it's what I have to do._ Neji pulled me out the door of the building and into a restaurant. I looked at him.

"I need to talk to you." He responded and looked down at the table covering his face with one hand. _I don't think… I can do this. _"Tenten. I-"

"Don't worry. We'll catch her together, before school starts. We'll go back to Konoha, and we'll catch Hiashi again. And then-"

"No." Neji said quietly.

"Huh?" I questioned. Neji shook his head slowly.

"No. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Neji said slowly. "Tenten, I'm really sorry. But it's just not working right now."

**-Neji's POV-**

She stared at me. "What are you talking about, Neji?"

"I just…" I stumbled. I didn't know what to say. I stood from the table and looked down at her. "Tenten, I can't do this anymore, alright?" She looked at me, confused eyes.

"I don't understand…" She looked like she was crying. I hated that. I hated when she cried. She made me feel guilty. Guilty for things I didn't even do. I gulped loudly.

"Tenten, we need to…" I paused. "Go back to Konoha." I looked her in the eyes.

**-Tenten's POV-**

"What?" I questioned. Tears blurred my eyes. "Back to Konoha?"

"Go back now." He ordered.

"Why?" I questioned.

"Don't question me!" Neji shouted at me. "Just go back without me! I'm staying here. Go!" Tears filled my eyes. I blinked, and then the tears fell.

"Why…" I said quietly.

"Because we're through." He said it. It hurt me to hear it. A rush of pain flew through my veins and into my heart. Each pump of my heart, sent the pain traveling through my body again. "I don't love you anymore, Tenten. Go back to Konoha." I refused to look at him and kept on crying. Tears didn't stop. I told myself I wouldn't cry anymore. But… it hurt so much. Someone shot my heart with a bullet, over and over, the pain kept growing, and growing.

I promised that I wouldn't cry anymore. But, he made me break the promise. He made me break the stupid promise. Well, I hated him too. I hated him too. I don't like him. I don't love him. I loathe him. But… even though I kept telling this to myself, I knew I was lying. I did love him, and I didn't want him to leave me. I was being selfish. I wanted him to stay with me. I never wanted us to part.

The bastard I love… left the restaurant, leaving me alone, taking my heart with him…

**-**

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**:( Cliff hanger!! I'll try to update soon. But, I have another kung fu performance, so I'll be needing a lot of practice time. And piano and all the other stuff.**

**Please review! i hope you all like it so far!!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Tenten..." Neji muttered and grabbed his forehead. "Dammit. I gotta get out of here." Neji quickly ran away. Where to, hell, like I would know…

**-x-x- Sunset -x-x-**

"Tenten! Tenten?" Temari shouted my name. I laid there on the cement of the play ground. I looked up at the moon. I didn't move, I just… like a rock pretty much. "Tenten? Is that you?" I raised my hand. She ran over. "Tenten! Where were you? I called you at least 3 times! What happened?"

"Mhm…" I responded blankly.

"Huh, what is 'mhm' mean?" Temari asked as she sat on the cement floor next to me. I looked away.

"Nothing."

"Huh?" She questioned me again.

"It means nothing…" I responded quietly and stood. "I'm going home."

"What? You just got here though…." She looked up at me. I sighed and nodded, refusing to see her face.

"I know." I said quietly. "But, I'm homesick…" I mumbled quietly. "I think it would be best if I went home now. Bye, Temari. Tell Gaara I said bye too…" I said quietly and started off.

"B-But, Tenten-" Temari shouted after me. I kept my backpack close and ignored her calls for me. _What happened? _Temari thought as she stood alone and pulled out her phone. "Hello?"

"Hey."

"I have something to talk to you about…"

"… yeah?"

"It's about Tenten…"

**-Konoha-**

"Tsunade." I walked into the room.

"Hi, Tenten. Back so soon? Did you and Neji catch Misaki?"

_Neji… _I shook my head. "No. We didn't. Not even close…" it was nearly a whisper. "He wants to handle it alone, so, I think it would be better off if I didn't get in the way, you know." I faked a smile and walked away. "I'm going home now, bye."

"Tenten, what happened?" She asked. I didn't turn around.

"Nothing." I responded coldly and walked away. _This is so annoying. I'm getting all pissed over Neji dumping me. This is pathetic, Tenten._ I thought to myself. I inhaled then smiled walking out of the building. Suddenly, someone's hand clamped over my mouth and pulled me into a house. "What the hell?!" I took my bag and whacked someone over the head as I heard a groan escape.

"Ow. Troublesome woman. What the hell was that?"

"Shikamaru?!" I nearly shouted. He turned on his lights. "What the hell are you capturing me for?!" Shikamaru shook his head and scratched it slightly.

"I needed to talk to you." He responded.

"You didn't have to scare me like that!" I shouted. He smirked.

"Temari called. Told me you were acting weird." He responded. "But, I disagree. I think you're acting how you normally do. Anyways, where is Neji? He was suppose to come back with you, right? Temari said she couldn't find him. She asked Gaara, and Gaara said no sight of him either." I looked down. "Tenten?"

"I don't know where Neji is." I said truthfully. "I don't care either!" I shouted a lie.

"Hm? What happened between you two?" He asked.

"He broke up with me, the bastard!" I cursed, not allowing my tears to escape. "Dammit."

"I'm sorry." Shikamaru responded. "Oh, but be happy for Sasuke."

"Why?" I asked.

"He's finally dating someone." He grinned. I raised an eyebrow. _The, Uchiha Sasuke found a girl friend? Whaddya know… _I smirked. "Sakura Haruno." My smirk fell off my face and landed _KA-SPLAT _on the ground.

"What the hell?!" I shouted.

"I know, right?" Shikamaru laughed. "Shocked me too. But, Sasuke told me he gave in, cause she kept asking him to go out with her. And, apparently Sasuke ended up liking her. It happened, alright." He only dated her once, which was yesterday night. I smiled. "Anyways, I'm glad you're back to your normal idiotic self. I'll tell Temari nothing to worry about, alright? And you go see Sasuke. He's been worried since you didn't tell him you were leaving." I nodded and left.

_Aw, damn… Sakura is actually dating Sasuke? Not that I care if Sasuke's dating anyone. But, I mean, SAKURA? Sasuke could do better… _Speak of the devil. There they were. Holding hands. "Hey, Sasuke." He looked at me, a grin plastering his face. He let go of Sakura's hand and ran over to me.

"You're back." He grinned and then it faded to a frown. "Thanks for letting me know that you and Neji left."

"I'm sorry." I smiled at him. He looked around.

"Where's the Hyuga anyways?" I shook my head.

"He's somewhere…" I looked away and my smile disappeared. "I don't know. He broke up with me." I grinned at Sasuke as he wrapped his arms around me. One behind my head, the other one on my back.

"I'm sorry, Tenten…" Sasuke said quietly.

"You have a girlfriend, stupid." I said quietly. Sasuke smirked.

"Oh yeah. My bad." He turned to Sakura and waved. She smiled as she walked over here.

"Hello, Tenten-chan." She grinned. I wasn't sure if it was friendly or if she meant trouble.

"Hey Sakura." I smiled gently.

"Come on, Sasuke-kun." She smiled and took his arm. He smiled warmly at her and nodded.

"I'll see you around, Tenten. Call me if you need a shoulder to cry on." He winked.

"Sakura, kick him for me!" I shouted after him. Her grin widened.

"I will!" She shouted. I smiled and then frowned as I walked towards my house. _Neji…_

_Flashback._

"_What?" I questioned. Tears blurred my eyes. "Back to Konoha?"_

"_Go back now." He ordered._

"_Why?" I questioned._

"_Don't question me!" Neji shouted at me. "Just go back without me! I'm staying here. Go!" Tears filled my eyes. I blinked, and then the tears fell._

"_Why…" I said quietly._

"_Because we're through. I don't love you anymore, Tenten. Go back to Konoha." _

_Flashback Over_

I kicked a rock into the river. _Why would he say that to me… I thought… he really loved me. As much as I loved him. Maybe not as much as I loved him, I guess. I loved him so much, and I thought he felt the same way about me. I guess not… _I growled. "I HATE YOU NEJI!" I shouted loudly at the sky. As I pulled out the gun Neji gave me. I threw it into the river. Then I pulled out the pack of knives he handed me.

_Flashback._

"_So cool! Can I have them?" They were assorted with tiny knives. "Can I?" I asked quieter. He nodded but took them back._

"_Yes, but only if you do me this favor…" He said quietly._

"_Yeah?" I asked excitedly. "Anything!" He smirked._

_Flashback Over_

I bit my lip. _I don't need these!! _I shouted mentally and threw them into the river. I saw them slowly sink to the bottom. I grabbed my head. "Why are you still in here?! Get out! Neji Hyuga, get out of me freakin' head!!" I shouted loudly. I screamed at the top of my lungs. I laid their panting after a few moments in front of the dock.

"Tenten, that you?" I sat up and turned around. _Who's.. Oh wait, I know. _I forced a smile.

"H-Hey Kiba." I stuttered. "What are you doing around here?"

"Midnight stroll." He walked towards me and sat down. "So I heard you scream. What's going on? I don't mean to say that I was spying on you or anything, but I overheard you shouting Neji's name."

"Yeah. He's a jerk." I muttered and put my hand on my forehead. "He dumped me. And it's just, causing me a lot of confusion is all… Actually, no, never mind. It's not confusing at all. He dumped me cause he didn't love me, so he said. Oh well…" I stood. "You're probably gonna say get over it, right." I let out a laugh. "Well, I should get over it…"

"I wasn't going to say that." Kiba looked up at me.

"Ah. So I guess you were probably going to say… don't be such a bitc-"

"No. I was actually going to say, it's okay." He responded. I raised my eyebrow at him.

"What?"

"It's okay to not be over someone you love." Kiba adjusted his voice. I smiled slightly.

"Thanks. I guess… I'll see you later." He nodded as I walked away. _What… the heck was that? He's so.. He was so… it was like he saw right through me. He said the things I wanted to hear at that time. _I laid down on my bed. My phone started to ring, but I completely ignored it, until my phone beeped. _Voicemail?_

"Hey, Tenten! It's Sakura! Do you want to hang out tomorrow? Sasuke-kun will be out of Konoha, so, do you want to get together? Just call me back, alright? Bye bye." The voice mail trailed off as I moved the phone away from my ear. _Haruno… Sakura? _I dialed back. "Hello?"

"It's Tenten. Hi Sakura." I said quietly.

"Tenten? Hey! You got my call! Awesome. So are you free tomorrow?" I nodded.

"Yeah. I'm pretty much free all the time now." I responded.

"Cool! So, maybe we can hang out I dunno, around?" She asked. I was quiet.

"Sure." I said finally.

"How about the beach?" She asked.

_The… beach?_

_Flashback._

"_Tenten, I'm not the only beautiful one. You don't have to stare. You're beautiful too."_

"_Damn, Tenten… you don't know what you do to me…"_

"_N-Neji-kun… you really think I'm a klutz?"_

"_Yes. But, I love you anyways…" _

_Flashback over._

"Tenten?" She asked. I shook my head quickly.

"Hey, sorry… Sure. The beach. That sounds cool. I'll meet you there, Sakura."

"Alright. Bye!" She hung up as I dropped the phone onto the floor. _The beach._ Everything played in my mind. But, mostly the words Neji said to me. I flung myself onto my bed and covered my face with my pillow and screamed loudly in frustration.

"Ten-chan?" My mom knocked. "Is that you? You're home already?"

"Hi mom. Yeah. It's me…" I said, almost in a whisper. She opened the door and walked in.

"How was the trip? I thought you'd be gone for a while. You just left, and came back already…" She scratched her head. I nodded. "I thought it would be weeks until you came back…"

"Yeah. I.. actually thought the same, but… no, it didn't happen that way…" I turned over and laid on my stomach and mumbled into my pillow.

"Tenten-chan, I can't hear you…" She said quietly.

"HE BROKE UP WITH ME!" I shouted and slammed my face against my pillow again.

"Neji-san?" She said quietly.

"Yes! He broke up with me! I bet you also didn't know that he was the one who…" My voice grew silent.

"Hm?" She sat down and stroked my hair.

_Can I tell her, and be allowed to still love him?_ "Um… Mom? What would happen, if I told you that I knew the person who killed daddy and Dai?" She was silent and looked at me with a smile plastered on her face.

"Well, I'd like to talk to him." She said as the smile disappeared.

"That's it?" I asked with curiosity. "What if… I was friends with this person?"

"I'd tell you immediately not to be."

"Really?" I asked. "Like, if it was Shikamaru, would we not be allowed to be friends anymore?"

"Shikamaru-kun murdered-" She looked shocked as I quickly shook my head.

"No no no! Shikamaru's not the killer, but, what if?" I asked.

"I wouldn't allow you to see him anymore, and I'd turn him in immediately." She responded. I sighed.

"What if it was Neji?" I asked quietly.

"I'd say the same thing." She responded. "But, Neji-san would never do anything like that, so there's no really what if, right, Ten-chan?" She asked. I was quiet. "Ten-chan?" I looked away. "Don't tell me… Neji-san really murdered…" I looked at her, as if I did it. I had kept it a secret, and I felt secretly guilty.

"Yeah." I said quietly.

"Neji-san… killed…" She couldn't finish. "Are you sure?"

"Mhm hm." I responded. I sat up and looked down at the rug, hair covering my face. "He… was a hired killer, mom. And he was targeted to kill me. That's why he became my boyfriend in the first place. But he soon fell in love with me, or so I thought. Together, we sent his uncle or his boss to jail but he broke free. And in the end, at the sand village, he broke up with me. I can't figure out why though."

"You mean, he was trying to kill you too?!" I looked at her face. It was mixed emotions. Anger, hatred, sadness… And confusion? I nodded.

"But he didn't. Because he said that he loved me, that's why he couldn't bring himself to kill me!" I quickly added in. She looked down and it looked like she was about to cry. "He said he was sorry. He was ordered to kill dad and Dai by Hiashi, his uncle; boss. It was because dad's job was to jail killers… and Hiashi wanted it to stop. Mom, he didn't mean to. He told me that he was sorry. He apologized."

"Never talk to him again. I never want to hear you talk about him. I never want you to see him. Be near him. You got that young lady?!" She shouted. I never heard her shout before. It was shocking, and it hurt.

"Y-Yes." I responded quietly as she slammed the door shut to my room. I could hear her crying. _Neji. You're causing everyone so much pain. Just forget about him already. Get out of my head. I don't want to see you, hear you.. Never; not again!! _

**-Next Day-**

"Tenten!" Sakura waved. I looked and waved back. She was waiting for me at the beach already.

"Hey." I smiled and walked towards her.

"It's really great to see you. Come on. Let's sit down. I packed us some lunch." She grinned.

"Really? Thanks." She pulled out some food and sat down refusing to look at me.

"Tenten?" I took a bite from the sandwich.

"Hm?" I looked at her.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered. "About before… I was… such a… complete-"

"It's fine. You're forgiven." I responded and shut my eyes, continuing to eat.

"No no no. I was really mean to you. And I always bullied you. And… I'm really sorry for that. I was really jealous of you, because Sasuke-kun was your friend and not mine. That's why I hated you so much. But, I really wanted to be friends with you, Tenten. It was hard though, because I thought he liked you, and you liked him. And now that he's mine, I wanted to be friends with you. Isn't that so selfish of me?" She laughed slightly. "I can't believe what I got myself into… Really, Tenten, I'm so sorry. I don't think that you could be friends with me right now, but I just hope, that I can make it up to you."

"You already did." I smiled at her. She looked at me. She must have been crying, her eyes were all red. Crying? Because she was being selfish… I guess I should have known. She didn't want to be my friend because of Sasuke, but, she wanted to be my friend all along? I guess I could go with that… But now that she knew Sasuke wasn't mine, she wants to be friends with me? I shrugged. I couldn't care less. I just needed a girl friend to dump all my problems onto. And I know Sakura will listen, right?

"I did?" She asked. I nodded.

"You asked me to be your friend." I grinned. "And… I would like to be your friend, Sakura-chan. I just wanted you to ask me. That's good enough for me."

"That's really nice of you, Tenten. I'll listen to anything you have to say. I'll always be here if you need a helping hand. I promise!" She held my hand as I raised my eyebrows.

"Well, I have some things that are on my mind…" I scratched my head.

"Yeah?" She asked. I told her the whole thing. Not the part where Neji was a once a hired killer… I just told her my time with him on the same beach, and going to the Sand village to visit friends, and the break up. "Wow. Tenten, that's really… I mean…" I scratched my head.

"I'm sorry. I just dumped a lot of my problems on you." I apologized. She shook her head.

"I was gonna say. Maybe Neji didn't dump you because he wanted to. Maybe cause he had to?" She placed a hand under her chin. "He sounded like he really loved you. I bet he still does! I mean, all the things he did had passion and affection in it. And then he just cuts you out of his heard just like that?!" She was almost shouting.

"C-Calm down, Sakura." She was scaring me. She was almost emitting a black aura.

"A-Ah. I'm sorry. I just got so caught up. Neji-san… why that son of a-"

"It's probably my fault…" I said quietly.

"Huh?" I shook my head and stood.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. I'm not really in the mood to swim and all. I'm sorry that you made so much food… and-" She shook her head and smiled at me.

"It's alright!" She laughed. "You go on home. I'll finish up here." I nodded.

"Thanks, Sakura…" I smiled and ran off. She started to clean up when…

"Sasuke-kun?" She raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you were spying on me and Tenten!" She stood. He smirked and shrugged.

"Maybe…" She walked to him and poked her finger against his chest.

"You-" He kissed her gently on the lips.

"Let me help you finish your home made food." He grinned.

**-On the way home-**

_I can't stand the pain I'm feeling. It's annoying… _I rubbed my forehead and kept walking towards my house. All of a sudden, I felt a gun shot sound come from behind me. I immediately ducked turning onto my back, leaning against my arm.

"You're fast."

"Misaki." I growled. "What the hell do you want with me?!" I reached for the gun, but, oh yeah. I threw it into the river along with all the other knives Neji gave me. I growled. She smirked.

"Where's your protective boyfriend when you need him?" She pointed the gun at me. "This time you'll be out of Neji's life for sure." I looked down.

"I already am!" I shouted. "He dumped me, alright?! You happy?"

"I am, actually." She smirked. "My target was him anyways." My eyes widened.

"You were… after Neji?!" It was nearly a shout, but, I gulped it down.

"Yeah. But, since I saw him, I think I…" She pulled the gun away.

"You what…" I pressured her on, even though, I think I already knew what she was going to say.

"I think I fell in love with him." I smirked.

"Well, he's free. Why don't you two go die together!" I shouted at her. She shook her head.

"I'm pretty sure he still loves you. So, you're just competition." She pointed the gun at me.

"…"

"Good bye, Tenten."

**-**

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**Not too long… I don't think. O.o Cliff hanger!!**

**Review please! I'll try to update soon...**

**thanks for reading!!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Please don't!" I shouted. She smirked.

"You think begging is go I'm going to stop me?" Her smirk disappeared and a growl was heard. "No way. I'm not going to give you mercy." I bit my lip.

"Don't… kill me!" I shouted again. She laughed.

"'Don't kill me!'" She mocked me. "Was that suppose to be some joke? Cause it wasn't funny." She held the gun and I heard the gun shot. I opened my eyes. She was gone. The bullet landed right next to my hand. I shut my eyes tightly and held my hands together.

_She missed… she missed. _I sighed and stood running as fast as I could. My heart kept beating fast, even though I was safe. What just happened?

**……**

"Argh. Who are you?!" Misaki shouted as she was pinned to a tree. She struggled to get free, but strong arms held her tight against it. A strong stern voice spoke loudly…

"Why were you trying to kill Tenten?" Misaki's eyes widened as a smirk formed on her face.

"Competition. Besides, she's annoying. I thought you broke up with her. Why are you here saving her, Neji-san?" Misaki stared into the cold eyes of the Hyuga.

"Don't question me. If I'm what you want, why the hell are you trying to kill her?!" Neji shouted.

"You are still in love with her. Hm, I wonder why you broke up with her then." She ignored Neji's question.

"Answer me!" Neji shouted again pushing Misaki against the tree harder.

"I'm not telling. But, even if you did get away from Tenten, you know, she'll never be safe." Neji loosened his grip. "She'll never, ever be safe. Cause I'll never give up on trying to kill her…" Neji pulled out a gun and pointed it at Misaki's head.

"Why are you after me? I know Hiashi is the one behind this. What do you want with me and Tenten?!" Neji's voice was colder than ever. Misaki smirked.

"Well, wouldn't you want to know…" Neji pulled the trigger as Misaki screamed.

"Open your eyes, fool." Neji growled. Misaki obeyed. The tree had a hole in it, the hole right next to Misaki's ear. She started to pant.

"I know. You broke up with Tenten, because you thought that she wouldn't be encountering anymore danger, right? You know that I'm not after her but you…" Neji nodded.

"What's your point?!" Neji shouted at her.

"You broke up with her for her own sake." Misaki grinned.

"So?!" Neji growled.

"You did it to make sure that she wouldn't be killed. Well, you made a huge mistake…" Her muscles tensed as she growled at him. Suddenly she kicked Neji in the stomach and disappeared. "You'll be mine." He heard just before she disappeared. _Dammit! _Neji grabbed his head. _I broke up with her… but… she's in even more danger. I thought… if I could just stay away from her… she wouldn't have to be targeted. I just made things worse. Misaki's after Tenten too, but for a different purpose!! And I can't be there to protect her… _

Neji quickly ran towards my house.

**-No POV-**

"Hyuga!" Neji turned around to come face to face with Sasuke.

"Yes, Uchiha?" Neji growled.

"What the hell did you do to Tenten? Why'd you break up with her?!" Sasuke shouted grabbing Neji's shoulder. "You don't know how much pain you put her through."

"I went through a lot of pain too, Sasuke!" Neji shouted back at him. Sasuke looked shocked. "I didn't want to… break up with her. Just know that… Don't tell her that though…" Sasuke let go of Neji's shoulder.

"Why did you do it then?" Sasuke asked. Neji looked down.

"For her own good…." Neji said quietly. "Tenten told you right?" Sasuke shook his head.

"Someone is trying to kill me… and the same someone was trying to kill her too. So I figured… if I broke up with her, she'd be safe…" Neji mumbled the rest. Sasuke scratched his head.

"You should have told her. She is still madly in love with you, Neji." He nodded.

"I know. I still love her too. But, until Misaki is captured, we can't be seen together." Neji growled. Sasuke raised and eyebrow and let out a small laugh.

"Then why were you on the way to her house?" Sasuke asked. Neji looked away. "Spy on her, right? To make sure she's safe?" Neji nodded.

"Misaki already tried to kill her when I wasn't around. I saved her just in time though…" Neji muttered. Sasuke nodded and sighed.

"I know, this is a bad idea… but, how about I watch her for a while?" Sasuke asked. "I have a girlfriend now and stuff… but…" Neji raised an eyebrow. "I could still watch her for you, Neji…." Neji looked at Sasuke and smirked.

"That would be great. I'll see you later then."

"You going to catch this Misaki?" Sasuke asked. He nodded. "If she's after Tenten, shouldn't you be where she is?" He shook his head.

"Sasuke… Misaki isn't after Tenten." Neji pointed to himself. "It's me, she's after. Neji Hyuga." He smirked and ran off. Sasuke was left raising an eyebrow.

"What the hell was that…" Sasuke muttered and ran off to Tenten's house.

…**..?……**

"Hey." Sasuke nodded towards Tenten. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Hi Sasuke. What's up?" She asked.

"Wanna take a walk with me?" He asked. Tenten shook her head.

"Not really. I almost got killed. I'm not really in the mood to-" Sasuke grabbed her hand. "What if Sakura sees us together… and thinks something else?" She asked. He let out a small laugh. "It's not funny.."

"It actually is. Just because I got a girl friend, doesn't mean I can't hang out with my other friends…" He smirked. Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Who put you up to this?" She asked. Sasuke scoffed and shook his head.

"Nobody. Why would you think that?" Sasuke asked. She raised an eyebrow at him. Sasuke looked away.

"I'm not stupid." She responded. He laughed.

"I know you're not."

"You just want to hang out with me?" He nodded.

"We haven't hung out for a while. So, how about we go for dinner, and then maybe the park. How's that sound to you, Tenten?" Sasuke asked. Tenten shrugged.

"I suppose." She replied and nodded, smiling. "Yeah, sure!"

**-Tenten's POV-**

"Alright. Let's get going then." He grinned. We went to dinner at a little restaurant in Konoha, and then hit the small little play ground. "Have fun?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. A lot of fun." I smiled and sat on the swings. "Come on!" He ran over and swung with me. I jumped from the swings and landed on my feet as Sasuke raised an eyebrow at me.

"Don't try it." I waved him off. "You might-" I turned around and screamed. "Oh my god! You're crushing me!!" I shouted as Sasuke landed on me. "Get off. Oh my god, I can't breathe!" Sasuke quickly shook his head and looked at m, rubbing his head.

"You alright?" He asked. I started kicking him.

"I can't fuc… breathe…. I…" He quickly got off as I started panting. "Oh my god. I nearly suffocated!" I shouted.

"I'm sorry." He helped me up as I slumped and leaned against his shoulder.

"Damn! I think you broke my leg!" I shouted as I slowly regained balance.

"I'm really sorry, Tenten. I didn't-" I sat down on the grass.

"It's fine. It's not broken. It hurts cause you landed on me is all…" I scratched my head. "It's fine." Before I knew it, Sasuke was kneeling in front of me. I leaned back. "S-Sasuke?"

"I'm sorry…" He said quietly, bringing his face closer to mine.

"Wh-What… WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" I shouted and pushed him away. He looked at me with a gentle look in his eyes. I covered my mouth immediately. "You have a girlfriend, Sasuke!"

"So?" He asked. "I'm not doing anything bad…"

"You can't kiss your friend!" I shouted.

"What if I wanted to be more than friends?" He asked. My mouth dropped.

"No no no! you're dating Sakura Haruno!"

"I like her too." He simply replied.

"It doesn't work that way, Sasuke! I love you, but… only as a brother! I… love Neji!" I shouted at him. He shrugged. My eyebrows raised.

"It doesn't matter to me…" He said quietly.

"You can't kiss me, Sasuke." He looked down. I moved my hand away from my lips. "You have a girlfriend. And I love Neji. It just doesn't work…" I said more quietly.

"I'll break up with Sakura then…" Sasuke said gently.

"But you love her…" I said quietly again as I shifted uncomfortably.

"I know…" Sasuke looked away from me. I sighed quietly. "But, I like you too."

"More than a friend?" I asked. He nodded. "More than a sister?" He looked away.

"I don't know." He responded. "Maybe… maybe not. I'm not sure. But, I know it's not a normal feeling…" He leaned in closer to me suddenly I heard another gun shot. I looked around quickly sliding out from underneath Sasuke. I looked behind me, "Sasuke, what was that?" No response. "S-Sasuke?" He was gone. I stood and looked around. _Where'd he go? _

"Ow! What the hell, Hyuga?!" Sasuke nearly shouted.

"I told you to watch over her… not to kiss her…" Neji growled. "You're my friend. And I trust you to watch over her." Sasuke shook his head.

"I didn't kiss her." Sasuke responded.

"You were about to…" Neji growled. "She's mine, you understand? Please… Sasuke. Just… back off. And just watcher her for me. Don't… do anything." Sasuke looked away.

"I'm not sure I'd be able to do that." Sasuke responded truthfully. "I think I-"

"No. Please don't think. Sasuke. You said that you'd watch her for me…" Neji growled at Sasuke. "I won't forgive you… if you do this to her."

"Do this to her?!" Sasuke shouted. "You dumped her! It's time for her to move on!"

"You have a girlfriend, Sasuke!" Neji shouted back.

"I know. I love Sakura, and I like Tenten too!" He shouted at Neji. Neji growled loudly and pulled Sasuke by his collar. His arms immediatly went into defense trying to loosen Neji's grip. Sasuke's eyes widened with shock.

"Uchiha… stay the hell away from Tenten!" Neji shouted loudly. "You're my friend! I don't want to lose our friendship! It's important to me.." Sasuke nodded.

"I know…" He responded. "Our friendship is important to me too…"

"S-Sasuke? Neji?" My eyes widened. I didn't know what happened. But, all I saw was Neji holding Sasuke's collar. They both stared at me.

"Tenten?" Sasuke called my name. "What are you… doing here?"

"I heard your voice…" I said quietly as my eyes returned back to Neji. "And Sasuke… I think Sakura overheard you say something… She ran away immediately. I tried to talk to her. But she pushed me away and ran. You should go talk to her, Sasuke…" He growled quickly, pushing Neji away, running without saying anything more. Neji looked away. "Neji…" I walked towards him. He slowly backed away.

"Don't get near me." He said harshly. I stopped in place. My hand dropped to my side.

"Neji. Why are you doing this?" I didn't cry even though… I knew I wanted to. He shook his head.

"I already explained it to you." He said coldly. "I don't love you anymore. I never want to see you again…"

"I… I love you so much!" I shouted at him. "I thought you loved me too!" I kept on shouting. "I love you so much, and... it's hurting as much as i love you, Neji…" I clutched my chest. "It really hurts…" I bent my head down low. He walked over and embraced me tightly. He placed one hand behind my head and the other on my back.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "But, we can't be together. I'm sorry… Ten-chan. I never wanted to hurt you." I nodded. "But… I…" _I do love you. So much, Tenten. You don't know, just how much I love you. _He pushed me away as I fell onto my knees. I looked up at him.

"Neji…" I managed to mumble out. He clenched his fists and looked away.

"I don't want to hurt you. So, get out of my life already!" Neji shouted at me. Pain was in his eyes, maybe guilt. My eyes started to blur, but I bit my tongue to stop the tears. I wouldn't cry anymore, right? He started to walk away. "Don't speak my name ever again."

".. Do you… still love me?" I asked quietly. He stopped running away.

_Why would you ever ask me that? You know my answer. _"No. I don't love you anymore." Before he could go anywhere else, I ran up and embraced him from behind.

"Please don't leave me! I need you more than ever, Neji-kun!" I heard him growl.

"I don't need you anymore. Leave me alone, Tenten. You're getting on my nerves. I already told you I don't love you. Stay the hell away from me already." Neji's eyes watered. It hurt him to say this. His voice cracked. I felt wetness fall on my arms. "What the hell are you doing to me?!" He shouted. He tried to break free. I held on tightly.

"Don't, Neji! Please don't leave me again!" I shouted clinging to him.

_The more time she spends with me… the more Misaki will try and kill her! I can't let that happen! I'm sorry… _"Tenten. Let go!" Neji shouted and broke free as he pointed a gun at me.

"N-Neji…" My eyes widened with fear.

"Get out of my way, or I'll really kill you." He said more calmly. The tears weren't there. His eyes were perfect as always; emotionless. "Get away. Now." I stood and glared at Neji.

"No. I love you, don't you see?!" I shouted. "I won't back away! Come back! Don't leave me all alone! Never! My mom… she told me not to… talk to you, see you ever again. But, I couldn't follow her orders. I couldn't… I couldn't bear to not see you again… to not hear your voice…" Neji lowered his gun.

"Get out of my sight." He muttered and turned his back to me. He started to walk away.

"Neji, I-" Before I could finish he was in front of me, glowering down at me. He moved both of his hands on my face, gripping my head in place. My hands slowly rose and grabbed his wrists. "Neji…" I said quietly. He suddenly claimed my lips. His lips crushing mine, his kiss rough and hard. He pulled away and turned his back to me.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." He whispered and walked away.

"…" There wasn't anything I could do to stop him, screaming wouldn't do anything. "I… I'll wait for you!" I shouted. He paused and looked at me. "I'll wait for you… forever if I have to." I said quietly.

"Neji-kun!" Misaki suddenly came out from no where and jumped on Neji's back.

"What the hell are you-"

"Pretend to be in love with me, and I promise… I'll never touch a hair on Tenten ever again…" She said quietly. I couldn't hear what was going on. But, I felt an eruption of jealousy. "Love me, and she'll live. Also, come with me to Hiashi. Neji-kun… I know her safety is your top priority… so… take the deal?" She whispered into his ear. He looked down. She leaned against the crook of his neck.

"Tenten." He called my name. I looked up to see that he was holding Misaki's hand. She wasn't on his back anymore, but she was clinging to his arm next to him. I looked away.

"What is it…" I asked quietly.

"You want to know… who I love right?" Neji asked. I bit my lip.

_It can't be. He's… He's in love with… _I grabbed my arm and fell onto my knees.

"Tell her, Neji-kun…" Misaki smiled up at him.

"I… love Misaki."

**-**

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**Another chapter up! Please review! I'm hoping to get as many reviews as Target: Tenten. Hopefully even more! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

"You… love Misaki?" I asked. I know I heard him say it, but… my heart wouldn't accept it. My face, I guess, showed off how I felt, and how shocking the news was to me, because Misaki was grinning. "Fine." I said simply. Neji showed shock. "Well, then forget about it, Neji. I see you love someone else!" I shouted, as I looked down. Tears fell again. Why did I keep on crying over him? I held my arms close to me as my tears hit the cold soil. Neji looked down.

"Now say… 'Tenten. Get out of my face. Misaki-chan and I have some place to be'…" She whispered quietly. Neji looked away.

"No…" He whispered back.

"Then, I hope you don't mind if I kill her." Misaki grinned as Neji felt her cold breath against his neck.

"Tenten. G-Get out of my face." He gulped. "Misaki-chan… and I have some place… to be…" He said with his eyes clamped shut. _I'm… so sorry, Tenten. I wish I could tell you… how I feel. How much I want you. You don't know, Tenten. Do you… Please, try to figure out why I'm doing this…_

"Come on. Hiashi is waiting for you…" Misaki grabbed his arm and pulled him. I felt him look back at me, but I never wanted to look at him again. I stood, still crying.

"I HATE YOU, NEJI HYUGA!" I shouted and ran. I knew he looked back at me, but I kept running and running, not looking back until I crashed into someone.

"T-Tenten?" The voice: Kiba Inuzuka. I immediately clung him, throwing my arms around his neck.

"Kiba!" I cried. He said nothing as he held me. I felt secure, warm, and safe. Maybe 10 minutes after I stopped crying I looked up at him. His face shown brightly as the moon shone down on us. "I'm sorry."

"It's… okay." He said quietly. "Do you want to tell me what got you so upset?" Kiba asked me. I shook my head and pulled away. "Alright. Well, I'm gonna head back home. Do you want me to walk you back?" I smiled and shook my head again. "If you need anything, call, alright? I want us to be friends." He grinned at me as I smiled back brightly.

"Thanks for being here, Kiba." I waved and started to walk away. I was almost home as I clutched my chest. The pain. It hurt so much. I coughed loudly and fell to my knees, continuing to cough and cough. I looked up and my eye sight blurred. All of a sudden, out cold.

**-No POV- next morning-**

"Tenten. Wake up." I ignored the voice as I rolled over. "Wake up…" I suddenly threw my body up, the wet towel falling onto the floor. I looked around.

"Oh my god. Where am I?" I saw Shikamaru raising an eyebrow at me as he was soaking wet. "Wh-What happened to you?"

"I had a bucket of water on the bed and you flung it at me when you woke up…" He took the towel from the ground and squeezed the water back in the bucket. "Stay here." He ordered and left. Minutes later, he came back in with a clean towel, and a new full bucket of water. I laid back down as he placed a cold towel on my forehead.

"What happened? Why am I at your place?" I asked.

"You fainted in front of my door steps. I was about to go out, when I found you lying there. It was 4 AM. And you have a fever, by the way…" He added in.

"Is this your bed?" I asked. He nodded. I blushed. "It's already 8 though. Where did you sleep?" I asked. He pointed to the ground. "I'm so sorry, Shikamaru. Really, you can come back and sleep-" I started to move around to get up when he put a finger on my forehead and pushed me back down.

"Just rest, Tenten." Shikamaru responded. "I'll stay here." He yawned. "Anyways, what were you doing out there so late?" He asked. I shut my eyes.

"I saw Neji." I said quietly. "But… he was with another girl… I hate him now anyways. He's a stupid jerk." I muttered loudly. He smirked.

"I guess. But, I bet he really does love you."

"No. He told me that he loved Misaki. Anyways… they were holding hands. It's alright, really. I really hate him at the moment. I told him that I'd always wait for him, well, I really don't want to anymore. I think I might just give up on him." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at me.

"I thought you really loved him." I nodded.

"Loved. Not anymore. I think I'll just give up on him." Shikamaru shrugged.

"These love things really confuse me. They're so troublesome." He rubbed his forehead. "I'm going to go out and buy some breakfast. Want anything?" I shook my head. "I'll be back. Don't kill your self while I'm gone." I nodded.

**-Hiashi's place-**

"Misaki. You're…" Neji couldn't find the right words to describe her. "You're so annoying." She clung to his arms and grinned.

"Well, Tenten's out of the way. How about we have some fun?" She smiled as she led me to Hiashi's room.

"Would me cutting those disgusting lips off your face count as fun?" Neji growled.

"Shut up." She pinched him.

"Bring me to Hiashi already." Neji growled.

"You don't even know what he wants and you want to hand yourself over just like that?" She raised her eyebrows at him. He nodded.

"If it's to protect Tenten then… yes." He responded quietly.

"Wow. You really do love her…" Misaki scratched her head. _I don't think I have a chance… I might though, if Tenten doesn't want him anymore… _"You know. You were a bit cold to her, doncha think?"

"Shut up." He responded.

"She doesn't even know why you broke up with her. Nor does she know that you really love her…" She laughed as Neji made a fist out of his hands.

"I know." He muttered. "She doesn't know the truth. Let's keep it like that." He growled. _It would be too dangerous if she actually knew why I couldn't stay with her anymore. That's the only thing she doesn't know about, and she doesn't know that I still love her. Then… she must know that Misaki is only after me. Why can't she figure it out? It's not hard. Tenten, you're so stupid! I pledged my love for you. Why can't you piece everything together… I only left you because I wanted you to be safe… You idiot!_

"You like talking to yourself hm? Or should I say… you like thinking a lot.." She smirked. Neji shook his head.

"You'll never understand."

"Oh I already know everything. You may not though."

"Hn." Neji responded.

"Do you love Tenten?" She asked Neji. He looked down.

"No. Not anymore…" He said quietly.

"Really?" She asked. He nodded with his eyes shut, jamming his hands in his pockets.

"She's getting really annoying. Seriously, she could lighten up. She's too attached to me, and that really annoys the hell out of me." He mumbled. She smiled slightly as she opened the door. Hiashi stood in the middle of the room. He smirked as the two walked in.

"Welcome back Misaki-san. Good work. Now go to your room and rest." She nodded and bowed. She shut the door slowly, winking at Neji once, and then she left…. Leaving Neji and Hiashi alone.

"You bastard. You don't know how much I hate you!" Neji shouted at Hiashi who ignored him completely.

"I'm here to offer you your job again."

"I don't want it!" Neji shouted at him. "I refuse to become the hired killer again!! What do you want with me anyways?!" He shouted.

"I want you on a mission…" Hiashi ordered. Neji shook his head.

"I refuse. Is that why you sent that little bitch after me?!" Neji shouted at Hiashi again. "Thanks to you… I've completely lost Tenten! I'm losing her at the moment!"

"I sent Misaki after you because I need you. There's a mission perfect for you and-"

"I already told you. I refuse to become the hired killer I once was. The hired killer who'd kill because they were ordered to. Where did it bring me? No where!"

"My my, Neji-san…" Hiashi shook his head. "Remember when you were to assassinate Tenten? And assassinate the hokage?" He looked at Neji who nodded. "You failed both. I'm giving you one more chance."

"You are dense. I don't want the job!" Neji shouted louder. "I DON'T want to DO it! Leave me and Tenten alone!" Neji turned his back to Hiashi who shut a bullet at the handle which Neji reached out for.

"Don't you want to know what's at stake?" Hiashi asked. "You will do anything I say. Everything I say, or else I'll kill Tenten… Neji-san."

"You wouldn't dare…" Neji growled.

"Misaki will. If I order her, she will do it. So, will you take my offer?"

"And if I take the job again?" Neji asked.

"Tenten will be unharmed. I will not hurt her." Hiashi simply responded. "So here's how it works… I want you to go kill Sasuke Uchiha. He's from the Uchiha clan, and they are enemies to me. Sasuke is the remaining Uchiha, and I want their clan to be completely history."

"…" Neji's eyes widened. _Tenten's safety? Or Sasuke's safety? _"Hiashi. I will have to think about it. I'll tell you tomorrow. Allow me to go back to my room." He shut the door and walked to the room. He opened it and stared. Blank walls, cold floor, one bed, messy desk. Yes, just as he left it. He picked up his phone and dialed quickly.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

I began to fall asleep when my cell phone rang. I opened my eyes and reached for it.

"Hello?" I heard a voice.

"Tenten." _Neji… _It was Neji's voice.

"Hyuga. What do you want?" I seriously wanted to say something else…

"I don't like Misaki. Please. Let me explain." I shook my head.

"You were holding her hand. Calling her Misaki-chan. Telling me to leave you alone. Yeah, you definitely don't like Misaki. Damn, I can't believe you're lying to me! You love her!" I sat up and groaned as I held my forehead.

"Tenten, are you alright?!" His voice…. It sounded like he cared… did he?

"Shut up. Stop pretending that you care, you cold hearted bastard…" I said shutting my eyes. "You're a jerk. I can't believe I used to love you."

"… What? U-Used to love you? What do you mean by that?!" Neji anxiously pounded his desk as he started to shake. He sat down on the bed immediately.

"I think I gave up on you already… I mean, I did say I'd wait for you forever? Well, I think I've gotten over you." I smiled slightly. Although, I know I was lying…

"No… oh god. No, Tenten. Please tell me… you're lying. Don't tell me that you don't love me anymore.. Oh, Tenten." I heard the desperation in Neji's voice as I gulped.

"Why would you care if I'm lying?" I asked coldly. "It's not like you love me anymore!" I shouted loudly. Neji growled. I could hear that he was getting angry.

"Tenten!" He shouted my name loudly. "I do love you, you idiot!!" I was quiet as my eyes widened. "I lied! About everything, Tenten! I lied about not loving you. I said all those things… it hurt you to hear them, but it hurt me more to say them. You don't understand what I'm going through! Losing you. I reach out to take your hand, but you pull away, and I keep distancing myself from you. I hate it!" Neji shouted through the phone.

"Why can't you tell me what's going on?" I was desperate. If he loved me… then he'd tell me right?

"I can't." Neji said quietly. "It's not safe. Please, try to understand…"

"How do I know you're not lying to me?! It looked like you loved Misaki so much! You said all those mean things to me… and left me heart broken when you broke up with me!"

"I didn't want to break up with you, honestly! It had to be done!" He shouted.

"Why?!" I shouted. He was silent.

"I can't tell you…" He said quietly. "I just can't."

"Why can't you tell me?! I trusted you with my heart, and you went ahead and shattered it!" I shouted. "It hurt me so much! You have no idea!!"

"I do…" He mumbled quietly. "It hurt me to break up with you."

"I don't believe you." I muttered. "How do I know if you love me?"

"You don't need to know. I do." He responded.

"What?"

"I need to know if you still love me." He said. "Well?" I was silent and muttered.

"Yeah." I said quietly.

"That's all I need." Neji replied. "I love you, Ten-chan… and nothing will change that. Please wait for me a bit longer. I'll try to figure something out. I'll call you later tonight. And Ten-chan?"

"Uhm, yeah?" I was blushing. Every time he called me that, every time my Neji-kun called me Ten-chan, it was like my heart suddenly leaped out of my chest.

"I need you to do something for me." He said quietly. I nodded.

"Anything…" I said quietly.

"I need you to get out of Konoha as fast as you can. Anywhere. Not the Sand village, somewhere far away from Konoha. Please, just do it. Don't ask." He said quietly. "Take your phone, and some clothes."

"Okay." I said. "Neji?"

"Yea- oh. Wait. One more thing. Stay away from Sasuke. Just do me the favor and just… stay clear of him. Can you do that for me?" I was silent. "Tenten?" _Please… don't ask me why, Tenten. I can't tell you…_

"Fine."

"Okay. When I call you, I want you to be out of Konoha already. Leave in the afternoon. Don't let anyone see you leave. The only way out of Konoha is through the main gate. If anyone asks where you're going… tell them you're going to visit a relative. Get away from Konoha as fast as you can."

"Alright." I said quietly. "The problem is… I'm sick."

"You're what?!" He sounded angry. "Do you have the flu? Are you alright? Are you getting the medic care you need?" I laughed slightly.

_That's Neji for you. _"Yeah. I'm fine. I fainted in front of Shikamaru's door, and he's helping me right now. Where are you right now?" I asked.

"I can't tell you at this moment… but-" I heard the door open.

"Shikamaru's back. I have to go." I said quietly.

"Alright. I love you so much, Ten-chan." There he went. He made my heart beat fast.

"I-I… love you too… Neji-kun." I whispered. I put the phone down and laid in the bed quietly.

"Tenten, you awake?" Shikamaru asked as he walked in and placed some bread on the desk.

"Yeah!" I smiled brightly. He grinned.

"You look all healthy. How'd that happen? I wasn't even gone for that long…" He ruffled my hair.

"I spoke with Neji." My smile brightened.

"What did he say?" Shikamaru asked. I shut my eyes.

"He told me… that when he broke up with me, that it hurt him a lot too… and that he still loved me." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"What if he was lying?" Shikamaru asked. I sat up and looked down.

"I don't know. He may have been, he may have not been… But if he said he loved me, then I will trust him…" I said quietly. Shikamaru patted my shoulder.

"You place too much trust in him…" Shikamaru responded.

"What about you?" I asked.

"I trusted you with him. When he asked you out. Remember? I trusted him to take care of you… and he dumped you like that." Shikamaur shook his head. "Not very reliable…" I tapped him gently and grinned.

"It's fine! How about we hang out today? I really want some ramen!" I took a slice of bread and stuffed it in my mouth and sighed in relief. "That tastes so good… thanks, Shikamaru!" He nodded.

"That's fine. Let's get ramen then." I looked at my clothes.

"I don't think I could go out in this…" I said quietly. He threw me a pair of shorts and a t shirt. "Aw, thanks!" He turned around and stuffed his hands in his pocket. I quickly changed. "They're a little big, but, it's okay. Thanks!" I quickly tied the shirt tighter around the end and placed a rubber band and tied the loose parts of the shirt together. He nodded.

"Let's go." I nodded and walked with him. We managed to meet Naruto and Hinata there too. "Hey, Hinata, Naruto!" I waved. They waved back at me.

"H-Hi Tenten-san." Hinata smiled at me as I grinned. "Hello, Sh-Shikamaru-kun." She smiled at him.

"Yo, Shikamaru, Tenten! Are you two on a date?" He asked. We raised an eyebrow at him. "Wait a minute- isn't Shikamaru dating Temari?! You're-"

"No you idiot." Shikamaru hit him over the head. "You troublesome idiot… She's with Neji. And I'm with Temari. We're going to eat as friends, stupid…."

"Haha. I knew that!" Naruto grinned. "Wanna join me and Hina-chan?" She blushed. Me and Shikamaru nodded. We were having a lovely time, until I saw Sasuke walking behind me with Sakura.

_S-Sasuke… _Memories flashed back at me. When he tried to kiss me… When Neji held him by his collar.

_Neji: "Yea- oh. Wait. One more thing. Stay away from Sasuke. Just do me the favor and just… stay clear of him. Can you do that for me?" _

"I-I gotta go!" I stood quickly. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and looked at me.

"What's the rush, Tenten? You only finished half a bowl…" Naruto complained. "The ramen will go to waste!" Shikamaru eyed me suspiciously as I just grinned.

"Aw man. Hey, you can eat it Naruto." I smiled. "My treat." I put money on the table.

"Thanks, Tenten!!" He grinned and took my bowl.

"B-Bye, Tenten-san." Hinata smiled sweetly at me. I nodded.

"See you later." I stood quickly and walked out avoiding Sasuke and Sakura. Shikamaru grabbed my wrist.

"What's going on?" He asked. I shook my head innocently, waving my arms like crazy. "Tenten…"

"Nothing, nothing!" I grinned and laughed. "Why would there be anything wrong? Haha, you're so silly!!" I patted his shoulder as he sighed.

"You're not very good at lying. If you want to lie to me, next time don't laugh and call me silly…" I made a squeak sound as he held my wrist tighter.

"Yeah. Haha. My bad." I responded. "Well, I gotta go. Bye!" I tried to run, breaking free of Shikamaru's grip, but he simply held me back by the collar of my/his shirt. "Ehhh!"

"Tell me what's going on, Tenten…"

"I have to go. I promise I'll tell you later." He glared at me.

"You better. Or I'll be forced to find you no matter how troublesome it will be…" Shikamaru smirked. I nodded.

"Yeah!" I responded. _You won't be able to find me… _I ran home. "Hey mom!" I opened the door. She stared at me and smiled.

"Where have you been, Tenten?" I shrugged.

"Around. Hanging out with Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru." I smiled and placed my hands behind my head. A grin plastered on my face.

"You're wearing boy clothes again. Shikamaru's?" She asked as she wiped the dishes. I stuck my tongue out.

"Yeah!" I responded. "My old clothes got dirty again. So I had to borrow his. And I spent the night at his house, cause I was too tired to walk home…"

"Really…" She raised her eyebrow at me.

"Hahah." I waved her off. "Oh please. None of that stuff, mom." I ran upstairs.

"What else did you do?" She called. "Tenten come down here!" I ran back down the stairs.

"Errrhhh. I went out to dinner with Sasuke last night. It wasn't a date. It was a 'friend' dinner. And then we went to the park, and then we left from there. And…." I paused. "I spoke with Neji…" I muttered.

"You what?!" She growled.

"I just spoke with him, mom… nothing more…" I spoke quietly. _Besides that he kissed me and was with another girl… but…_

"I told you never to talk to him again! Why didn't you turn him in for murder?!" She shouted. I shook my head.

"He changed! He's not after me. He's sorry for killing dad and Dai. Please, mom. I love him! And…" She interrupted me. She put the plate on the table and threw the towel over her shoulder.

"Tenten! You're grounded! Do not step out of the house for a week! I told you not to talk to that criminal and you disobeyed me!" I scratched my head.

"Alright." I said. She looked taken back.

"Excuse me?" She asked. I shrugged.

"Alright. I'm grounded. You're right. I was wrong. I'm sorry. I'll turn him in next time." I turned and headed for the stairs. _Hah. Yeah right. _I smirked as I got out my backpack. I locked the door to my room and looked at the time. It was around 3:30 PM. _Plenty of time. _I packed my clothes. I threw Shikamaru's clothes into a pile at the end of my bed and threw over a tight black tank top, and a pair of blue jean shorts. I tied my hair up into the normal two buns on my head, and laid on my bed… shutting my eyes.

**-Hiashi's place-**

_Tenten…_ Neji looked out the window and sighed. _I want to see you so badly. Maybe… if I call one more time… _All of a sudden, there was a knock. Neji raised an eyebrow. "Come in." He said quietly.

"Hey, N-Neji-kun…" Misaki walked in. Neji rubbed his head and sighed.

"Hi." He said quietly. "Misaki-chan…" _Damn. I can't believe I still have to pretend. This is so fuc-_

"Uhm. Do you know how you said that you didn't love Tenten anymore?" Neji nodded. "Well, I know that you don't like me. But, how do I know you're telling the truth… you know… about… not loving her?"

"You don't believe me?" He asked softly. She looked down.

"Can you prove it though?" He shrugged.

**RING…**

"Ah!" I screamed as I fell off my bed. I grabbed my phone. "Hello?" I said groggily.

"Tenten?" _Oh shit… it's Sakura._

"H-Hey, Sakura! What's up?" I smiled.

"Nothing. I need to talk to you."

_Oh crap._ "O-Oh. Sure. Okay. What do you need to talk about?" I asked. She was quiet.

"Sasuke-kun…" She said quietly.

……

"Prove to me that you don't like Tenten…" Misaki said quietly taking a seat next to Neji, taking his hand. He looked at her. "Kiss me."

**-**

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**Finally finished! I think this is one of the longest chapters so far. Satisfying, right? I'll try to update soon.**

**If you readers haven't read "Target: Tenten", you all should. The story you are reading right now is the sequel to that. :)**

**Please review! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

"What about Sasuke?" I asked.

"Why was he on top of you?" She asked. "Are you two… dating behind my back? I mean, I know Neji's gone, but… why are you taking my Sasuke?" I shook my head.

"We're not dating, Sakura. We went out to dinner as friends. Only friends. I guess Sasuke wanted to take it a little further, and tried to kiss me. Sakura, I told him that he had a girlfriend, but he still tried to-"

"I see.." She laughed lightly.

"He loves you Sakura, he told me… he's confused is all… He likes me, but…. Hopefully it's nothing more than friend. Or a sister, if he wants. I don't plan to take our friendship to the next level, cause, my heart belongs to Neji." I smiled. Sakura nodded.

"Okay. I want to hear what Sasuke has to say. So, can you meet us at the park now?" She asked. I looked at the clock. _I have time._

"Okay, sure." I smiled.

"Alright. See you later, Tenten."

"Yep." We hung up at the same time. I sighed and was about to run down the stairs and leave through the front, but.. Oh yeah. I was grounded. How could I forget. I locked the door to my room and opened the window.

**-Neji's room-**

"What?" Neji's eyes widened.

"Kiss me, I said." She whispered it now, leaning closer to him.

"Stop." He said and looked away.

"Why can't you kiss me? You don't love Tenten anymore right?" She stood and huffed loudly. "I guess you still love her. I'm telling Hiashi." She started to walk out.

"Wait, Misaki… chan.." He added quickly. _I can't kiss her… _"G-Give me some time to get to know you… and then… I'll be able to kiss you." Misaki's smile brightened.

"Alright!" She smiled. She hugged him and kissed his cheek, closing the door.

"That was close…" Neji sighed as he rubbed his forehead. _I can't…. kill Sasuke. But, I can't let Tenten get hurt either. What can I do?_

**-Park-**

"Hey." I waved at Sasuke and Sakura sitting on a bench. Sakura waved as Sasuke looked away.

"Alright." Sakura pointed to a seat next to me as I sat down. I rubbed my forehead.

"So what am I here for?" I asked. _Wait! Neji said I have to stay away from Sasuke! But.. It's okay. It's not like… He's going to try anything…_

"Sasuke-kun! Tell us your story." Sakura pointed to him. He nodded.

"I already told you, Sakura…" He muttered.

"Say it again.. Tell it to Tenten. I want it to match…" Sasuke sighed.

"Alright. I asked Tenten to have dinner with me, as friends, not… like anything. We went to the park… and I tried to kiss her, alright?" Sasuke covered his face. "I didn't mean to kiss her. I don't know what happened."

"Did you two actually kiss?" She asked. I brought my hands up and waved them frantically.

"Oh hell no!!" I shouted. Sasuke stood as well and shouted.

"Why would I ever kiss her?!" I glared at him.

"What's wrong with kissing me!?" I snarled. He rolled his eyes.

"What I meant, is that, if I kissed you, the Hyuga would slice off my lips and burn them to ashes!" He shouted. I raised an eyebrow.

"Then why'd you try?" I asked. He paused.

"I don't know. Right there when was with you, it seemed like… I was drawn to you…" Sasuke looked at me. My jaw was hanging from my mouth… and my eyebrows were raised as I quickly shook my head.

"You're so weird, Sasuke." I shut my eyes and rubbed the back of my head. "And Sakura, he really does love you, right, Sasuke?" I looked at him as he nodded.

"I do." He responded.

"And well, I don't have any special feelings for Sasuke except that he's an annoying idiotic brother…" He laughed as I hit him. "Sasuke, you don't like me anymore than a sister right?"

"Yeah." He responded.

"That better be true…" I poked his chest. "Don't hurt Sakura ever again." I grinned at her. "She's my friend…" I said quietly. Sakura nodded.

"And Sasuke, if you ever hit on her again, I'll tell Neji to rip your whole head off!" She shouted as her eyes gleamed. Sasuke sighed.

"Alright. I'm gonna go home." I looked as the sky darkened. "Bye!" I quickly ran off and jumped back into my room. Just in time, because my mother sounded like she was going to break down the door.

"If you DON'T open up RIGHT now, I'll-"

"I'm here. Mom, you woke me up. I was sleeping…." I lied. I walked to the door and was about to open it when I heard the wind rustle into my room. I ran to shut the window, and messed up my hair as I opened the door. "H-Hey, mom." She raised an eyebrow at me.

"You look horrible…" I laughed pathetically.

"Aw man. I know, I should probably take a shower." I grabbed a towel. "That's a good idea, mom. Thanks!!" I ran into the bathroom and locked it.

"… Alright…? Oh yeah! And Tenten-chan, school starts in a week!" She shouted. I twitched.

_A…A.. A WEEK?! _I almost shouted out loud. After a quick shower I ran back into my room and threw on a black short sleeve shirt, and a pair of black shorts. I put on my sneakers and looked at the clock. "I should go now. Neji said to get away from Konoha… as far as I can…" I said quietly and wrote a note.

_**Hey Mom,**_

_**I'm sorry about not telling you this. But, I'm leaving for a while. I'll be back though. I promise. I know you won't be happy with me… about leaving. It's important… really important. But, I can't tell you what I'm about to do. Even I don't know.**_

_**I know you said not to hang around with Neji because of his past… but, he's changed. I know he's changed. I can feel it. I'm not saying I'll be with him, I just want you to know that, even though you said I can't see him anymore, I just can't help it. I love him, mom. I love Neji so much…**_

_**Please don't try to follow me. Don't send anyone after me… Promise me this. And I'll promise you that I'll be back before you know it.**_

_**Love, Tenten.**_

I folded the note and left it on my neat bed. I cleaned up all my dirty clothes and unlocked the door. _Bye, for now… _I thought, as I opened my window and jumped out. The roads and streets were quiet. _I have to get away from Konoha… _I thought as I walked towards the main gate.

"Just where do you think you're going?" I heard Shikamaru's voice. I paused.

"Going to visit a relative." I said quietly and smiled at him.

"That's an awful big backpack." He whispered. I nodded.

"Y-Yeah. Well, I'm going to visit until school starts…" I looked down.

"Oh." He said quietly. "Don't lie. Where are you going? You can't really expect me to believe that you're visiting someone with so much stuff." I scratched my head.

"I'm going to visit my aunt and uncle…" I responded. "They don't live too close, so I need some supplies." I grinned. "You know what I mean…" He nodded. "Um, so I'll see you later. Bye, Shikamaru." I walked out the gate. _Damn, that was close. I didn't think that-_

"If you're leaving Konoha, you might want to tell Tsunade." He responded. "And you might want to tell your mom too. Also, if you're running away, you might have wanted to tell your friends first." He grabbed my wrist as I turned around and faced him. "Where are you going?"

"Somewhere. I don't know. I can't stay here anymore… Neji says… I can't." I responded._ That's Shikamaru for you. He found out immediatly that... that I was planning to run away..._

"What?" Shikamaru asked.

"He didn't tell me why…. I have to go." He held out his hand.

"Promise me you'll be back." I smiled. "I promise." As I pinky sweared with him. I quickly ran away. My phone rang sometime as I was sitting in front of a lake. "Hello?"

"Tenten. Where are you right now?"

"In front of a lake. I stopped to rest…" I said quietly.

"No. Keep moving. Don't stop. Cross the lake. And keep running." I sighed and did as I was told.

"Tell me what's going on!" I almost shouted.

"I'm at Hiashi's right now…" He said quietly. "I can't tell you too much… I think I'm being watched… Head towards the big oak tree."

"But that's so far away!" I complained.

"Please… just go there, and wait for me to call again. Promise?"

"I'm making a lot of promises these days. Okay." I said quietly.

"I love you, Tenten." He said quietly.

"Yeah, I love you too." I smiled and hung up.

_Dammit. I got to get outta here… _Neji looked around and opened the window. He slid out and landed on the ground softly.

"Neji-san. Where do you think you're going?" Hiashi's voice boomed from behind him. Neji turned to come face to face with Hiashi. "Good evening. What brings you out of your room?" Neji shrugged and stuck his hands in his pocket.

"I don't know. I need some fresh air." Neji responded and pulled out a gun and shot at Hiashi who ducked. Neji quickly ran. Hiashi shouted.

"You forget you still have a tracker!" Hiashi shouted as he brought a phone to his ear. Neji turned around and held up his bandaged wrist.

"It's out!" Neji shouted and flipped his middle finger at Hiashi and ran.

"That… Neji... argh.. Misaki!! He got out. Bring him back!" He yelled over the phone.

"Yes, sir." She hung up and ran outside after Neji.

**-…No POV….-**

**RING…**

Tenten quickly picked up. "Hello?"

"Tenten. Where are you?" Neji asked.

"The ground… underneath the tree."

"Good." Neji hung up on her. All of a sudden, Tenten felt two strong arms heave her by her waist into the tree. She was about to scream when someone's lips crashed onto hers. "Tenten… I've missed you… so, so much…" Neji whispered against her lips before he pulled her into another kiss.

"I've.. Missed you too." Tenten whimpered as they parted. "Please… tell me what's going on…"

"…" Neji nodded. "Misaki was after me. And the only way that you could be safe, was as if I broke up with you and did not keep contact with you. Unfortunatly, I found out that it was way too hard not to think about you, and even though I wasn't with you, Misaki and Hiashi would still attack you to get to me… And so I only said that I loved Misaki so that you would be safe…"

"You broke up with me… for my safety?" Tenten asked. He nodded.

"I thought you had figured it out…. But suddenly you were crying. I knew it was too real to be an act.. I'm sorry. I should have told you… And I went back to Hiashi with Misaki. It ends out that they only wanted me to do a mission." Tenten touched his cheek affectionately.

"What mission did they want you to do?" Tenten asked. He stroked her hair gently.

"Kill Sasuke Uchiha… or else you would die." He said quietly. Tenten gasped.

"R-Really? Oh my god… so what did you-" He smirked and brought his head closer to her. He propped his chin on the crook of her neck. "N-Neji?"

"I ran away. I can't kill Sasuke. Nor… can I have you injured… I have until tomorrow morning to decide whether I want to kill Sasuke, or have you be killed. I'm not about to accept the mission, let me tell you that. They think you're back in Konoha, that's why I made you leave… I don't want you to get hurt…" He rubbed his face against Tenten's neck as she let out a moan. "Ten-chan… I love you so damn much… Please. Believe me, I never wanted to hurt you. I… never intended to hurt you so much… please believe me. I love you so much. I don't love Misaki. I only love you, I only want you, Ten-chan…" He placed a gentle kiss on her neck.

"N-Neji… I… love you too." Tenten blushed. "Promise me you'll never leave me alone again." He brought his head up and looked at her, smirking. He brought his head towards Tenten's ears and whispered quietly.

"I'll never leave you alone… but if I do…. Please know that it's your life I'm protecting. But, I promise I'll never leave you because I don't love you enough." He bit her ear gently. Tenten bit her lip suppressing a moan.

**-Tenten's POV-**

"I know you're up there, Neji!!" Misaki's voice boomed. "Come down! Hiashi's not happy that you ran away!! And stop talking to yourself, Neji-kun. It's weird…" I looked at Neji as he glared down.

"Yeah. I was just thinking. I ran away because I left something here, that I needed." Misaki shouted back at him.

"Oh yeah? And how come you needed to flip the finger at Hiashi if you were just going to find something?" Neji paused and then recovered.

"Well, it's important to me, and Hiashi would laugh anyways." Neji responded.

"I won't laugh.." Misaki said quietly. "Show me, Neji-kun.." He looked at me and then searched into my bag. He pulled out my special pocket knife.

"H-Hey.." I whispered. He kissed me softly.

"I'll bring it back." He smirked and jumped down from the tree. "Stupid, huh. He wouldn't let me come get this." Misaki took it in her hand and smiled.

"It's really beautiful… Can I have it?" She asked.

"N-No." I whispered as I shifted my weight on a branch. The tree shook and a couple of leaves fell down. Misaki glared at the tree. She started to walk towards it. Neji stood in front of it.

"Don't go that way." Neji said quietly. "I'm making something for you. Don't look." She smiled and threw her arms around Neji. My Neji. She threw her arm around MY Neji. I was about to go down and beat that girl up. "Go back to Hiashi." She shook her head.

"I can't… You need to come back with me." Neji nodded. "He threatened to kill Tenten otherwise." Neji's eyes widened and nodded.

"I'm coming back with you." I couldn't believe my ears. "Let me go hide what I made for you." I took the knife and jumped back into the tree. "Tenten, I have to go back."

"Well you don't seriously want me to sleep in a tree!" I whispered.

"Here." He put the knife back in my hand. He reached in his pocket and put a gun in my hand. "Take this. And keep it by you at all times. I have to go back… but, I'll see you tomorrow. When the sun rises. I'll be up here waiting for you, I promise…"

"But you have to give Hiashi your answer!" I whispered again.

"I'm gonna say no to the mission. I need you up in this tree though. I'll call you really early and I want you here waiting for me."

"Are you almost done, Neji-kun?" Misaki asked.

"Er, Yeah!" Neji rustled the branch. I grabbed his arm. He smirked and pulled me towards him. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him close to me as we kissed.

"You ready?!" She shouted again. I tried to pull away.

"I'm not done.." Neji muttered against my lips. I opened my mouth to speak but he kissed me again. He brushed the hair out of my face and kissed my forehead. "Remember. Tomorrow. Here. Early. I love you." He whispered and jumped from the tree. "Sorry about that. I had to hide it." He smirked. Misaki smiled showing her teeth.

**-While they were running-**

"Hiashi might punish you for leaving…" She looked down and scratched her head. Neji held her chin up.

"Can you take care of that for me?" Neji asked seductively. She blushed.

"Y-Yeah!" She smiled. "No problem."

"Thanks." Neji grinned and jumped into his room through the window.

**-Up in the tree-**

"Damn jerk…" I muttered quietly as I leaped down putting the gun in my pocket. I looked around and found a small little village. I walked into the main desk of a hotel. "Um, can I stay here for one night?"

"But of course." The man handed me a key. "Your room is 214. For one night, that will be-"

"Here's the money. Keep the change." I smiled and walked to the room. It wasn't bad… one bed, a t.v., a couch, a bathroom, and a desk. Oh lovely… I took a shower and laid on the soft bed. _Tomorrow morning… early morning, the stupid phone will ring, then I gotta get out of this cozy bed and sit in a tree waiting for Neji. Aw man!! _I shut my eyes and soon fell asleep.

**.xD.xD.xD.xD.xD.**

"Um, Hiashi-sama. Neji left cause he was doing something for me." She smiled at him. Hiashi raised an eyebrow as Misaki grinned.

"Really… but he stuck his middle finger at me, and fired a bullet as well." She rubbed her head.

"He didn't want anyone to follow him, Hiashi-dono." He nodded.

"Neji put you up to this, huh.." Hiashi smirked. Her smile disappear.

"H-How did you know?" Misaki asked.

"I'm not stupid. Do not take me for a fool, Misaki-san."

…

_Gotta thank Misaki later. _Neji sighed as he jumped onto the bed. _There's a security camera in my room. I just… noticed. I can't believe it… and it was right above me too. _Neji rolled off his bed and took out a secret gun from under his mattress. He moved to an angle in which the camera wasn't aiming at. Swiftly, he pointed the gun and shot. The camera went out, as Neji smirked. Little did he know, he was being watched from another camera…

"**My, my… Neji-san. What do we have here?"**

**-**

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**I'll update soon. I hope you liked this chapter! This is probably my favorite chapter so far. :D**

**Please review and tell me what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**-Next Morning-**

**RING…. RING… RING… RING..**

"Ah. Damn." I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "Hello?"

"Good morning, Tenten." He said quietly.

"Neji?" I asked.

"Were you expecting someone else…" He muttered. I laughed lightly.

"Nope. Do I have to go to the tree, now?" I asked as I stood and rubbed my head.

"That would help." Neji said quietly.

"Alright. I'll be on my way then. What about you?" I asked.

"I'll be there." Neji responded.

"… I love you…" I whispered.

"Love you too, Ten-chan." He whispered back. I smiled and got ready.

**-Neji's POV-**

I hung up the phone and found a backpack in the closet as I stuffed clothes, guns, knives, and bandages. I threw my phone into my backpack on top of everything else. Reaching under my mattress, I pulled out my gun, putting it safely in my pocket. I walked downstairs to Hiashi. I was going to finish this now. He'd either die, or go to jail.

"You're going down…" I whispered as I walked down the halls.

"Neji-kun!" Misaki jumped on me. I turned around in disgust.

"Yeah.." I said quietly. She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Let's hang out!!" She smiled. "Come on!"

"Can't." I simply muttered. "Gotta do stuff." I mumbled and pried her arms off me. I coldly shook her off and walked away. She ran after me.

"Neji-kun? What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing." I responded. "I'm leaving here."

"B-But, you can't!!" Misaki shouted at me. "Hiashi-dono won't let you! I won't let you." I stood and looked down.

"I don't need anyone to tell me what I can't do." I muttered coldly. "Sorry." I quickly apologized and ran off, leaving her staring at me. I heard her stifle a cry but soon, I felt arms wrapped around me.

"Don't leave me! I love you." She whispered. "Since… Hiashi made me come after you."

_Misaki… sounded a lot like me… doesn't it… falling in love with Tenten.._ I smirked. "I'm sorry." I whispered and grabbed her wrists again, releasing myself from her grip. I walked away from her, then picking up speed. I knocked on Hiashi's door. "Hiashi. I know what I'm going to do."

"Oh really? And what would that be?" He stood and looked at me. I looked down and then at him directly.

"None!" I shouted and pulled out a gun. "Hiashi. Die or-" _Go to jail. Say it. Why am I not saying it? _I felt something hard hit the back side of my head, and then black. My eyes shut.

"Tie him up, Misaki." Hiashi said quietly.

"Yes, sir." Misaki showed pain and anger in her eyes. But, it's not like I could see the difference.

**-Tenten's POV-**

_Damn that Neji! Where is he? I've been sitting in this god damn tree for an hour!!_ I jumped down and looked around. No sign of him what so ever. _I guess… I could wait a little while more… he's probably trying to escape from Hiashi right now._

**xNo POVx**

_Where… the hell am I? What happened… _Neji opened his eyes and looked around. He was kneeling on cold dirty marble floor, wrists cuffed and had chains leading towards the wall. Neji stood. _Where… am I?_ Everything was dark, and the door opened, light letting itself into the room. The light raced into the room and filled his eyes as he squinted.

"You're awake."

"Hiashi. What the hell did you do to me?!" Neji shouted.

"Not me. Misaki. She knocked you out." Hiashi responded. Neji's eyes widened. 'Betrayed?" I growled.

"No." Neji responded. "I deserved it…"

"Pick up your phone." Hiashi ordered. Neji smirked and let out a laugh.

"Hah. You're really funny. Like I can reach. And besides you took my bag…" Neji muttered loudly. Hiashi pulled out Neji's phone and smirked. "Give it back…"

"No. I need you to make a call. Right now." Hiashi responded. Neji growled. "To your lover."

"What do you want with Tenten?!" Neji yelled.

"I knew you still loved her…" Misaki came out from the shadows. Neji bit his lip. "I knew it.. You… liar…"

"I'm sorry." Neji said quietly. "But, Hiashi, what do you want with her?!"

"Since you won't kill the Uchiha… I'll be the one to do it."

"I don't care about Sasuke! What will happen with Tenten?!" Neji was angry… probably more angry than ever.

"You'll see. Say exactly what I say… or I will hurt her…" Hiashi smirked. "You're in a tough poition." Hiashi dialed Tenten's number in to the phone, and put it on speaker. Neji heard the ringing of the phone. His heart was beating so fast. It was like it was getting harder to breathe. Neji started to pant and sweat. He listened until the cheerful voice of the girl he loved spoke.

"Hello?" She said. Hiashi whispered.

"It's Neji." Neji gulped and repeated.

"it's Neji…"

"Oh, I know." Tenten giggled. "Where are you? I've been waiting for such a long time, Neji."

"I'm still at Hiashi's. Yes. I know. I need to tell you something." Hiashi whispered. Neji repeated.

"Sure. What is it?" She asked. She didn't know what the hell was going on. She didn't know that he was in danger. Tenten didn't know that Neji was being threatened…

"I hate you." Hiashi said quietly. Neji's eyes widened. "Say it… Or else, I'll tell Misaki to track her down." Neji bit his lip and shut his eyes tightly.

"Hello? Neji? You there?" Tenten's voice asked. Her voice, so pure, so beautiful. It was about to be shattered, along with her heart. Neji knew that. But… he didn't want her to die either.

"I… I hate you…" Tenten was silent. Just as Neji expected.

"What?" She asked.

"I hate repeating. You know that." Hiashi said quietly. Neji looked away. "Misaki." Hiashi whispered as she came out from the shadows, pulling out a knife.

"I hate repeating. You know that…" Neji bit his lip.

"I don't understand. I thought you said… to meet me-"

"I know what I said!" Neji shouted. He wasn't about to give up their meeting place. "Just forget it! Go home, Tenten. Go home! I want to work under Hiashi again. There's nothing you can do about it! Just go away. You're making my job more miserable, and I can't stand it!"

"What are you saying." Tenten said quietly. There was a hint of pain in her voice.

"My job… was to get rid of you. But I failed to do so again. This whole time. I've been trying to trick you. But I haven't been able to." Neji shut his eyes and bit his lip.

"I-I see.."

"Tenten…" He said quietly. She spoke.

"Y-Yeah… Neji?"

"Message on the tree bark!!" He shouted before Hiashi slammed the phone. "You're a bastard!" Neji shouted.

"I know that already." Hiashi smirked. "Misaki. Go bring Tenten to me."

"S-So she was the one in the tree?!" Misaki shouted at Neji. He was silent. "I trusted you too…" She looked away. Neji bit his lip.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled.

"Too bad!" Misaki shouted. She ran out.

"Leave Tenten out of this!" Neji shouted. Misaki turned to him and growled. "Hiashi! You said that-"

"I wouldn't hurt her? Well.." Hiashi grinned.

"You went back on your words!" Neji growled. "Hiashi… You bastard."

"Sorry." Hiashi walked away and slammed the door shut. The room got dark. It took a while to see, but, Neji's eyes soon got adjusted to the darkness.

_Damn. Damn. I… fell for it. Like Hiashi would stop going after Tenten…_ Neji tried to reach for something in his pocket…

**-….-**

"He… hates me?" Tenten mumbled quietly. "Message on the tree bark?" She quickly looked around the tree and found at the very top, something engraved carefully. "Oh, Neji.."

**Tenten.**

**If you're reading this, then I've probably have told you that I hated you. Or that I left you once again. Please, understand that, I will always love you. I was saying those things for your own safety. I can't have your life endangered. Please wait for me. Go back to Konoha… and stay with Shikamaru…**

**I love you, Neji.**

"Neji…." Tenten said quietly. "I'll believe you for now…" Tenten jumped down and started off to Konoha. _Stay with Shikamaru. Fine._ She was in front of the gate when she heard a bullet fire. "Dammit!" Tenten quickly ducked and rolled to her knees. "M-Misaki…"

"Hello, Tenten. You're coming with me." Misaki pointed the gun. Tenten shuddered and bit her lip.

"No." She said quietly. "I'll never go with you!"

**-Tenten's POV-**

"Then die." Misaki fired the bullet. But it never hit. I opened my eyes.

"Sh-Shikamaru!" There he was, holding Misaki's wrist, so that the gun was pointing down.

"I told you not to get hurt. We made a pinky swear that you'd come back. I don't want you coming back dead." Shikamaru smirked and kicked Misaki.

"Why are you protecting her?!" Misaki shouted.

"Cause she's my friend." Shikamaru stated. I stood immediately.

"I don't need your help, Shikamaru. I can handle this." I looked at him.

"Sure." He responded. "Who exactly are you?"

"You don't need to know. Just hand Tenten over to me." She said. Shikamaru shook his head.

"No…" Shikamaru said. "I won't." Misaki growled.

_He's… strong. I just sense it. I can't… fight him. _Misaki bit her lip and disappeared.

"She's… gone." I looked around. Shikamaru glared at me.

"Was she the one Neji was warning me about?" Shikamaru asked.

"What? Neji… warned you?!" He nodded.

"Called me, and told you that you were gonna come back soon. I've been waiting here." Shikamaru sighed. I hugged him quickly.

"Thanks. That's really nice of you." I sighed. "I could have took her on though."

"She was about to kill you." Shikamaru responded. I shook my head.

"I had a gun." Tenten pulled it out. Shikamaru's eyes widened.

"Why the hell do you have a gun?" Shikamaru asked. I laughed slightly.

"Neji gave it to me so I could protect myself." I giggled. "But, you protected me too. Thanks!"

"No problem." Shikamaru smiled.

**RING.. RING.**

"Who is it?" Hiashi asked.

"Misaki. I couldn't catch Tenten. She's with someone at the moment."

"Go after Sasuke. Make sure he is under-"

"Yes. I know." Misaki cut in.

"Good. Bring him back. We'll deal with Tenten later."

"Yes." Misaki nodded and headed back for Konoha.

**-Sasuke-**

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura mumbled. He took a bite of his sandwich.

"Hm?" She smiled and leaned on his shoulder. "Is something wrong, Sakura?" She shook her head.

"No. Everything's perfect…" She mumbled. "I just wish… Tenten and Neji came back…" Sasuke nodded.

_She just disappeared… Sakura. Tenten just… vanished._

_Flashback._

"_Sasuke-san!" The door was being knocked on over and over._

"_Who is it? O-Oh… You're… Tenten's mom…." Sasuke said quietly. My mom was bawling._

"_Ten-chan… She's left. I don't know where she went. Do you… Sasuke-san?" She cried. Sasuke shook his head slowly while his eyes were in shock._

_Tenten… gone… lost? Sasuke thought._

"_She left a note saying that she left. I don't know where she is. She won't answer my phone calls. I'm… so worried!" Sasuke looked down._

"_I don't know where she is… I'm sorry…" He said quietly._

_Flashback over._

"I have to go, Sakura." Sasuke stood.

"N-Now?" She asked. He nodded. "Alright. See you later, then?" Sasuke nodded as Sakura kissed him lightly on the cheeks. "Bye!" She waved. Sasuke walked off.

"Tenten…" Sasuke mumbled.

"Sasuke!" I shouted. He turned around at the sound of my name.

"Ten…te-" I jumped into his arms.

"How are you?!" I hugged him tightly. He blushed slightly and hugged me back.

"Fine. Where have you been?!" He pushed me away and grabbed my arms. I scratched my head.

"About…" I said quietly.

"Your mom's been worried SICK." Sasuke emphasized on the word.. "SICK"…

"I'll see her. Don't worry." I mumbled.

"I was… worried too." He hugged me again. I smiled.

"Thanks." I mumbled.

"We should see your mom." Shikamaru tugged at my arm. I pulled away from Sasuke.

"Okay. Bye, Sasuke. I'll see you later!" Sasuke pulled my arm.

"Let's hang out. We can go see your mom later." I bit my lip.

"I can't, Sasuke… I have to go with Shikamaru…" I said quietly. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" He asked. I shook my head.

"I can't tell you…"

"I can." Shikamaru said. "Neji, wherever he is.. Told me to take care of Tenten. And she has to listen to whatever I say. Simple enough. So, we'll see you later, Sasuke." Shikamaru walked away.

"Sh-Shikamaru! Wait up!" I ran after him but stopped to see Sasuke's hurt face. "I'll call you later, I promise!" I ran to him and held out my pinky. He smirked.

"You're such a little kid.." He patted my head and out pinky's wrapped around one another's.

"I'm not gonna wait for you!" Shikamaru shouted. I looked at Shikamaru.

"C-Coming!!" I shouted. "Call you later!" I smiled and ran off.

"Hm." Sasuke said quietly and turned, walking away.

"**Uchiha… Sasuke, I presume?"**

"…" Sasuke opened his eyes, and in front of him was Misaki. "Who are you?"

"No need to know." Sasuke growled.

"What do you want." Sasuke said coldly.

"You, actually." Misaki said.

**-My house-**

I reached forward to knock but pulled away and tried to run. Shikamaru grabbed my collar.

"Get back here." He muttered and pushed me towards the door. "I'll be right next to you through this. I know everything…" Shikamaru said quietly.

"Everything?" I asked.

"That Neji didn't really hate you? And that Neji loved you more than anything? That Hiashi asked him to kill Sasuke? Tenten, he told me that you were coming to Konoha too. I know everything." Shikamaru smirked. I rolled my eyes and sighed, taking a huge breath of air.

"Al-Alright." I mumbled and knocked on the door.

"Coming." I heard my mother's voice. She opened the door slowly… when- "Tenten?"

**-**

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**Sorry it took so long to update… I've been very busy…**

**My birthday's on Sunday, aka August 24****th****! YAY!! xD I'm really excited! :)**

**I'd love some reviews!! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

"H-Hey, mom." I said quietly. She growled at me.

"Where did you go?! Why didn't you tell me?!" She shouted. I looked down. "Get in the house right now!!" She shouted. "Shikamaru. I'm sorry. But could you give us some time?" my mom asked. I looked at Shikamaru with a pleading look. He smirked and nodded.

"I'll be in your room, Tenten…" He said quietly and walked past us.

"Shikamaru…" I said quietly. My mom nodded and then glared at me.

"Sit down now." She ordered. I walked to the couch and sat, refusing to look at her.

"Where did you go?!" She shouted at me. "Do you know what you put me through?! You left me that stupid note, and then left, just like that!!" I touched my forehead gently. "Are you listening to me, Tenten?!"

"Yes. I'm listening. I can't tell you where I went…" I said quietly. "I'm sorry for making you worry…"

"You should be!!" She shouted. "Grounded. Grounded, grounded, GROUNDED!" She shouted. "You stay in your room until I come up and get you!"

"Mom, you don't understand. I can't do that…" I said, nearly in a whisper. "There's… something very important going on. But, I can't tell you."

"Does this have something to do with Neji Hyuga?!" She shouted again. I nodded. "I told you to stay away from him! Not only did you disobey me, you ran off with him, TOO?!" I didn't want to lie.

"Yeah." I said quietly.

"TENTEN!"

"I'm sorry, alright mom?!" I stood and glared at her. "I love him, mom! And… I'll do whatever it takes for him to be safe! Just like him. You don't know, mom do you?! Dad and brother are DEAD. Neji didn't mean to! He's different now!" I shouted. She looked down.

"Just how do you know that?! He broke up with you, and left you heartbroken. Why are you still after him?!"

"I love Neji! I love him SO much, mom! You DON'T understand!! He… He's changed!! He took a gun shot for me! He got captured by Hiashi by me! He came to protect me when you got hurt!" I looked down. "Mom, he loves me too!! He protects me. He loves me MORE than his own life!!"

"… Tenten. He protected you?" She asked. I nodded angrily.

"He protected you too, mom. He's trying all he can to make up what he did in the past. He's trying as hard as he can. But he knows that the sins he did… can't be erased…. Hiashi. He tried to kill you. Neji came in and protected me… and prevented your death. So… please mom. You're alive because of Neji… Can't you at least move on from the past?!"

"I can't, Tenten! He killed your father and-"

"I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW!" I shouted. "God dammit, mom! You don't understand at all do you?! After what I just explained to you?! I LOVE NEJI…. And there's NOTHING you can do about it! Ground me all you want, but I'm still going to protect me!" I ran up the stairs as my mom looked at the ground, tears falling from her eyes.

"How'd it-" Shikamaru started. I ran into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"She doesn't understand!!"

"Are you… crying?" Shikamaru asked and patted my head. I shook my head.

"There's nothing to cry about… I need to protect Neji… We have to save him…" I looked at Shikamaru. He nodded.

"Let's go back to my place. Pack some stuff. You have to stay with me for a while. Neji's instructions." Shikamaru picked up my backpack and held it out. "Come on." I nodded and took it.

**-…………..-**

"So what do you want with me…" Sasuke asked. Misaki grinned.

"I already told you…" She muttered.

"No you didn't." Sasuke was getting angry, and well, you best know that you should stay out of his way.

"Come with me. I'll make it easy." She said quietly.

"I don't even know you." He turned around and walked away.

"Don't turn your back to me!" She shouted and Sasuke stopped walking.

"I don't know what you're after. But, I don't have anything to do with you."

"That's where you're wrong." She mumbled. Sasuke turned around.

"What?" She ran at him and placed a seal on his wrist. "What the fuc-" He blacked out. Misaki smirked and took the headpiece and spoke into it.

"Hiashi, sir… I got him. Sasuke is now under our control." Misaki smirked.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"D-Dammit! I gotta get out of here…" Neji pulled at the chains, but the more he pulled, the tighter the cuffs got around his wrists. Neji fell to his knees and panted heavily. _If… I use it… Hiashi will know I escaped…_ Neji looked at the window. He slowly reached into his back pocket and pulled out a gun. He quickly fired the chains from the wall and shot the glass to the window so that it shatter to the floor, like fallen snow. Neji climbed out quickly and started to run. Hiashi ran down the stairs.

"He… got out.." Hiashi growled loudly. "Misaki!" He shouted into the earpiece. "Neji has escaped. He's probably going back to Konoha. Now… listen closely…."

**x-x-x-x**

"Shikamaru. I'm troubling you aren't I?" I asked as he pulled out a mattress into the living room. He shook his head.

"No. It's fine. You're my friend… and Neji's my friend too." He responded.

"So?" I asked. He smirked.

"I like helping out friends, Tenten." He laughed slightly. It was nearly night, but I pulled out my cell phone. "Tenten?"

"I promised I'd call Sasuke…" I said quietly and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Sasuke. I'll tell you what's going on. Okay? I called like I promised." I smiled.

"I don't care." He responded. I was silent.

"S-Sasuke? Are you alright?" I asked. He was silent.

"I'm fine." He responded. Shikamaru looked at me. I put it on speakerphone.

"Sasuke… don't you want to know what's going on?" I asked loudly. Shikamaru waited patiently for the anwer.

"Hell no. I don't want anything to do with you. Now, if you don't mind, get out of my sight, Tenten. It's ridiculous how you keep calling me like this. I don't want to waste my time with you. I have better things to do. Now if you don't mind, I never want to hear from you again." He hung up. My face was filled with shock.

"Uchiha…." Shikamaru growled. "It wasn't him, Tenten." I nodded.

"I-I know. But it sounded like him… Wh-What should I do?" I asked. Shikamaru shook his head.

"I don't know." He responded. "Let's go. We should-" Shikamaru's phone rang. "Hello?" He picked up. "Neji. What's going on?" My heart started thumping. Shikamaru looked at me and smirked, putting it on speaker phone.

"Shikamaru. I just ran away from Hiashi. I'm on my way to Konoha, right now. I should be there in less than 10." He said quietly. I was so happy he was alive. "Is Tenten safe?" He asked.

"Yeah. Course she is, Neji." Shikamaru smirked.

"Thank god. I don't know… what would I do.. If she got-"

"N-Neji…" I managed to say his name. He paused.

"Tenten?" I smiled.

"Oh, Neji. You're okay!!" I sighed in relief and smiled.

"You too. I'm sorry about what I said. Really, Tenten. I was forced by Hiashi. Did you get the message on the tree? I was afraid that he'd try to break us apart again… But, really, Tenten, I-" He heard noises. "Am I on speakerphone?" Shikamaru laughed and I did too.

"Yeah." Shikamaru grinned. "I'll give you two some time. Tenten, I'm gonna go get something to eat." I smiled.

"Thanks, Shikamaru." I smiled and took it off speakerphone. I heard him shut the door to the living room. "Neji, I miss you so much! I…"

"Me too." He cut in. "I'm almost to Konoha. I… can't remember the feeling of your lips on mine.." My face heated up as I blushed brightly.

"M-Me neither. My mom yelled at me for leaving though…" I said quietly.

"I'm really sorry, Tenten. I didn't intend for you to be scolded at." I laughed.

"It's fine. Alright. I'm at the front gate now. I'll talk- Sasuke?"

"What? Sasuke?"

"What are you… Sasuke!" Neji shouted and then suddenly the phone went silent.

"Neji? Neji! Oh my god, Neji!" I shouted over and over and then my hand shook and I dropped Shikamaru's phone. Shikamaru ran in with a potato chip in his mouth.

"What happened?" I stood and grabbed my head.

"Sh-Shikamaru. I think… Sasuke's attacking Neji!" I shouted. He dropped the bag of chips and ran to the door. I tried to break through. "What are you doing!? Neji… he's being attacked! Let me through, I have to help him!" I tried to pull him away. Shikamaru stayed firmly.

"No. You can't. Neji doesn't want you to encounter any danger."

"What if he died?! Shikamaru!!" I shouted his name.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly and then suddenly I blacked out. "I'm sorry." Shikamaru picked up my body and put me on the couch. He knocked me out, and little did I know, Neji was in danger…

_As much as I want to help Neji… He told me I had to keep you safe… _Shikamaru thought and sat on the floor picking up his phone.

**-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Uchiha… What… are you doing?" Neji let out a groan as blood oozed out from his arm. The bullet had pierced right through his arm. Neji's phone laid on the ground, specks of blood on it. "Sasuke!!" Neji shouted his name. Sasuke held the gun in place. Sasuke smirked.

"Sorry, Neji. But, this is what I have to do. I'm going to have to annihilate you." Sasuke pointed the gun at Neji. "Too bad Tenten won't be here to see you die. But then again, she'll be dying soon anyways."

"What are you talking about?!" Neji stood and held his arm close to his body.

"You're all annoying. Just-"

"S-Sasuke-kun?"

"Oh no. Sakura…" Neji peered over his shoulder.

"N-Neji?!" She almost screamed as she covered her mouth. "Wh-What happened?!" She ran over and looked at his arm. "Neji. You got shot? What… happened?" Sasuke pointed the gun and aimed at Sakura's back.

"Get down!" Neji shouted and pulled her that the bullet just missed Sakura's heart. "SASUKE!" Neji shouted. Sakura looked at her hands. They were covered with Neji's blood.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura stood. Her eyes widened. "S-Sasuke-kun? Why.. Are you holding a gun?"

"Get lost, girl." Sasuke responded. "Don't make me kill you too."

"What's going on?" She said quietly. Tears filled her eyes. She looked at Neji who sat up still holding his arm which was drenched with blood. "Why are you hurting Neji-san?" He smirked.

"Just get out of my way!" Sasuke shouted and pointed the gun at her. "I'll shoot."

"Don't do it, Sasuke!" Neji shouted.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted his name. All of a sudden Sasuke's hand dropped and he blinked looking around.

"Where… am I?" He asked. "Neji? Why the hell are you bleeding?" He looked at Sakura. "S-Sakura… your… hands… why are they.." Suddenly he let out a growl. "Stop confusing me!"

_Something's controlling him… _"Dammit." He stood.

"Neji-san. You-"

"Go, Sakura…" Neji said quietly. "He's not the same Sasuke he was before. Something's controlling him. I don't know what it is… but please, Sakura. Leave now. And don't turn back." Sakura looked down. Neji let go of his arm and pulled out a gun. Sakura's eyes widened at the sight of it. "I'm sorry, Sakura… that Sasuke didn't explain any of this to you. Please, just go." Sakura stood still. Sasuke smirked as Neji turned to yell at Sakura. Another gun shot was made and shot Neji in the stomach. "SAKURA! WHAT ARE YOU STILL STANDING HERE FOR?!" Neji shouted as blood gushed out of his stomach. She sprinted and ran. Neji groaned and bit his lip.

"You're going to die." Sasuke said quietly.

"I…" Neji was silent. "HIASHI!" Sasuke smirked.

"About time."

"What did you do to Sasuke?!"

"He's under my control." He simply said.

"Hiashi. Let him go! I thought you wanted to kill him." Neji shut his eyes tightly.

"Yeah. But he's good use to me." Neji fell to his knees, blood pouring from his wounds.

"Sasuke! I know you're in there!!" Neji shouted. Sasuke stirred. "Sakura… You almost killed Sakura!!" Sasuke's eyes widened as he began to shake.

"I want you dead!!" Sasuke shouted and shot another gun fire, but in time, Neji rolled out of the way and coughed out more blood. "You're going to DIE." Sasuke stopped and shuddered again.

_Sasuke… _Neji shut his eyes tightly. _Tenten… I…_

"AH!"I screamed as I sprung from the couch. _Neji…_ My heart started racing. I saw that Shikamaru was gone. "Sh-Shikamaru?" I looked around. I walked to the kitchen and there he was. Sitting on the chair, a gun next to his hand. "What's going on, Shikamaru? I just heard… Neji's voice… in my head, I-" He picked up the gun and shot. I ducked down immediately. "Sh-Shikamaru?!"

"Get out… Tenten… of here now…" I heard Shikamaru's voice. It was hard to hear cause he was so quiet. But, his voice, it sounded strained.. Or hurt.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"G-Get… to Neji now!" Shikamaru shouted and grabbed his gun and shot again. "I can't… stop shooting, Tenten! It's not me, it's-" Shikamaru shot another fire. I ducked again.

"Me." I heard Misaki. She walked out. She held out her right hand, and Shikamaru did the same. "I'm controlling him. I'm not as strong as Hiashi… so I can't control the talking, but I can control the body." She smirked. Shikamaru did the same.

"Dammit…" Shikamaru cursed. "I can't believe I got caught. Tenten, there's a chip on my wrist. Take it out." I walked forward to almost get hit by the gun. "Tenten! No, forget it, run, NOW!" He shouted. I sprinted for the door when I heard,

"I'll kill him if you run." I stopped and turned back. Shikamaru was pointing the gun to Misaki and the other way around. "Don't, Misaki!" I shouted. "Fine! Take me with you! Just DON'T kill him!!" Misaki backed away from Shikamaru, as he did the same and backed into a fridge.

"Tenten, throw the chair!" Shikamaru yelled, and as ordered, I did. Misaki blocked, and so did Shikamaru. Except, he banged his arm against the fridge knocking off the chip. He stood immediately and pointed the gun to Misaki who laid on her back. "Go to Neji!" I nodded.

"Thank you, Shikamaru!" I shouted.

"No. Thanks to you… Tenten, I'm alive now." He smirked. "Spit out EVERYTHING, Misaki!!" She smirked. I ran to the main gate and heard a gun fire. I stopped in my track and looked around. I heard another gun shot and started running again. Suddenly, I felt a tight grip on my arm, and then- where am I? A dark alley way. Dark walls surrounding me, sun setting sky, cold ground. I pulled the hand away. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Don't go that way, Tenten…" I heard a shaky voice.

"Sakura? What are you doing here?"

"Tenten… S-Sasuke-kun… he's behaving weirdly… I… I'm glad you're back! So please… don't go that way. I don't want you to die…" I heard her cry. I was silent.

"What are you talking about, Sakura?"

"S-Sasuke-kun… is trying to kill Neji…" She started crying. **kill… kill…** The magic word. And immediately, I ran. "Tenten! Come back!" I refused. I wasn't about to lose Neji. Just then, I saw Sasuke's back, and Neji. He was mostly covered in red; **blood.**

"N-NEJI!!" I shouted. Sasuke turned around, and Neji stared at me.

"No, Sasuke, don't!" Neji shouted and stood, still holding his stomach. Sasuke just smirked. Wait… Sasuke? He held a gun and pointed it at me. That was Sasuke? Uchiha Sasuke? The same Sasuke I knew? "Sasuke, don't shoot!" Neji sprinted.

"Too late." Sasuke said quietly.

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**Yay! Today's my birthday! :) lol.**

**Please review. Reviews are my presents. Haha. xD**


	9. Chapter 9

I squeezed my eyes shut. But I heard nothing.

"What?" I looked at Sasuke. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a new pack of bullets. _He… ran out._ Sasuke's hand trembled and fumbled when he tried to open it. "Neji!" I ran to him, and he ran to me. "Oh, Neji!" I jumped and wrapped my arms around his neck. "What.. Happened? Neji… you're arm and stomach!" I screamed as I helped him onto his knees. "Oh my god. What happened to you?!"

"Sasuke…" He mumbled. I laid Neji gently down. His breathing was loud as he inhaled. _I… have to get him to the hospital as soon as I can… _I thought and scrambled to my feet.

"What do you think you're doing, Sasuke?!" I shouted. I looked at the ground and picked up Neji's gun. Sasuke dropped the pack of bullets onto the ground. "Why are you hurting him? Why are you hurting NEJI?!" I screamed.

"Tenten? What's… going on?" Sasuke asked. "What happened to Neji? No. I didn't… did I…. hurt…" He looked at his hands. He slowly backed away, dropping the gun. "I.. didn't. I couldn't have. I… oh no." I lowered my gun and walked towards him. "Don't come near me, please…."

"It's okay." I said quietly. "Sasuke…"

"I'm so sorry, Tenten!" Sasuke's hair covered his eyes. I reached up and touched his face. It wasn't warm, but icy cold. "Just kidding." Sasuke whispered and then I felt something cold collide into my body, something painful that it surged and pierced right through. "Stupid." I coughed and grabbed his hand. He ran a sword through my stomach. I backed away slowly and pulled the sword out. I heard Neji make a gagging sound. I turned quickly.

_Neji. He won't make it.._ I bit my lip and plunged the sword into the ground. I gripped my stomach. _Neji has to make it. He has to make it._ "Sasuke.." _It isn't him. It must be… Hiashi._ "Hiashi!" I shouted.

"About time."

"Why are you controlling Sasuke?!" I shouted.

"If Neji won't join me, then I'll have to kill him." Sasuke said simply.

"That's why you're hurting us?! Cause you want Neji dead?! Because he's not working as your STUPID hired killer?!" I felt Sasuke's hand tighten around my throat and lifted me into the air. "Stop… Hiashi!"

"Remember. Most people won't know it's me, my dear. They'll all blame Uchiha Sasuke, and then he will die along with you and my fool of a nephew." I struggled to break free. "You will die by the hands of this boy." I bit my lip and kept trying to break free of his tight grasp around my neck. My eyes began to shut when I heard a screaming sound.

"Sasuke-kun! Stop it!" It was Sakura. She ran and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Please, Sasuke-kun! Stop doing this… Please, Sasuke!" His grasp loosened.

"S-Saku…ra…" He said quietly.

"His hand, Tenten." Neji said weakly.

"What…" I muttered still trying to break his grip around my neck

"A seal. Pull it from his wrist.." Neji mumbled letting out a groan and a cough of blood.

"You're done!" I heard Sasuke shout.

"No, don't!!" Sakura screamed. I shut my eyes and grabbed his wrist and ripped half of the seal off as he dropped me. "Tenten! Are you alright?" She kneeled next to me. I coughed and grabbed at my stomach, nodding.

"Yeah. I'm fine.." I mumbled. "Stay. Don't move." I ordered her and walked towards Sasuke. "Sasuke…" He backed away. "Don't. Sasuke, you'll be fine."

"No. I…" Sasuke paused and refused to move.

"I'm sorry that… I have to do this, Sasuke." I said quietly and knocked him out. Sakura immediately caught him.

"What happened to him, Tenten?!" Sakura asked panicking.

"He should be fine now." I responded. "Listen to me carefully. Take him and strap him onto a bed. Keep him tied. No matter how much he begs to be set free, please, do NOT let him go." Sakura was silent.

"Tenten. There is… so much I do not know about you, about Neji, about Sasuke-kun… It's like you and Neji are keeping a secret…" I smirked.

"You have no idea…" I mumbled and looked away. "Go now." She nodded and walked off with Sasuke immediately. I ran over to Neji and kneeled before him and took his hand. "Neji…. Speak to me… Neji…"

"Hn…" He slowly opened his eyes and they widened at the sight of my wound. "What… happened?!"

"Sasuke ran a sword through me. But, I'm okay…" I stroked his cheeks gently. "You might not be though. You took 2 gun shots, Neji.." I slowly lifted his upper body and laid him on my lap. He panted heavily. "I have to go get help." He grabbed my hand and shook his head.

"Just stay by me, Tenten…" He said quietly.

"You're… gonna die if I can't get your wounds treated." I muttered back to him. He smirked.

"Don't tell me that you'd plan to die with me." He mumbled. I bit my lip.

"Living a life without you… is like dying anyways." I sighed. "Come on." I held him up and wrapped my hand around his waist and pulled his other arm around my shoulder. "Come on. We have to go to the hospital now."

"I don't think I… can make it." Neji let out a quiet groan as his body became heavier pulling me down with him. Blood seeped from my wound and drenched my shirt.

"You can!" I shouted. "We'll make it together.. Neji. I can't live without you! We'll live! We'll get Hiashi together!" Neji shook his head.

"Only I can. Tenten… You can't endanger your-"

"No." I said quietly. "I'm going to get him." I helped him up again and pulled out my phone and called an ambulance. "Please. Quickly." I set him down gently and pulled out some bandages and wrapped them around my torso to stop the bleeding. I couldn't help Neji. The bullets were still in his body… the metal. It was bad for him, yet there was nothing I could do. The ambulance quickly came as I helped Neji onto a stretcher.

"What about you?" Shizune asked me. She was one of the medics. I shook my head.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking. Please take him." I said quietly.

"Your shirt is drenched with blood. How are you not… hurt?" She asked with curiosity.

"This… isn't my blood. It was his. Please! Every minute you spend talking to me, you will be taking one minute away from Neji's life!!" I shouted. She nodded. Two other medics helped the stretched with Neji on it, into the truck.

"Tenten…" Neji moaned. "Don't. Come on… Get.. In." He mumbled. I shook my head.

"There's something I have to finish first, Neji." I smiled. "You're safety is my priority."

"That's… my line." He muttered. "Now get in." I shut the door to the truck.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. The truck drove away. All I wanted at the moment, was for Neji to live. That's all I wished for right now. "Shikamaru."

"Hm? It wasn't wise of you to not join Neji in that truck."

"… Why's that?" I asked.

"Cause you actually might die now. Isn't that a shame?"

"I told him that you would be stopped."

"Said that Hiashi would be stopped right?" He asked. I nodded.

"You work with him. So it would be the same… right, Shikamaru? Or should I say, Misaki." I turned around and pointed Neji's gun at him.

"You wouldn't kill me would you?" Shikamaru asked.

"Not Shikamaru. But I'd kill you, Misaki!" I aimed the gun behind me and fired. I heard a scream and suddenly Shikamaru fell. I spun quickly and pointed my gun at the ground where Misaki laid, clutching her leg. "I'm not stupid. You think you can have Shikamaru distract me and then just kill me with that pathetic knife? Nice try." I picked up the knife and stabbed it into the ground in front of her face. "You really are being used, Misaki. Hiashi doesn't care about you. You're just… a tool."

"I'm not! I'm not!" She shouted. "You don't even KNOW why Hiashi wants to kill Neji!" She shouted louder.

"I do actually. Cause he refuses to work under him. That's why Hiashi hired you Misaki. To take Neji's place. But, if he's still trying to beg Neji to still be his little hired killer… he's just using you." Misaki was silent.

"I don't understand…" She screamed at me. I sighed.

"If you're Neji's replacement, why's Hiashi so determined to win him back?" I asked her. She was still quiet. "See?" She let out some tears. I kneeled down in front of her. "Misaki… you don't need this from him. You're… talented, skilled, and loyal. You don't need to work under him. And I'm sorry about shooting you." I felt something. She was different. I flet that she was different. She shook her head and pulled out the bullet. I handed her some bandages and she wrapped it slowly.

"Thanks. I'm sorry for trying to kill you and stuff." I helped her up. "I'm going back to Hiashi now. I'll spare you this time." I sighed and scratched my head.

"You still don't understand?" She laughed slightly.

"No. I'm going to Hiashi. I'm not gonna be his hired killer. I'm… actually not going to be a hired killer at all. Thanks, Tenten. It was nice knowing you." With that she disappeared.

"… Sh-Shikamaru!" I ran to him quickly. He was lying there on the ground. "Oh my god, wake up!" I shook him. He mumbled and groaned.

"What the hell, woman?" Shikamaru rubbed his head. "Oh. Wait, Where's-"

"She's gone. Don't worry. We won't see her again." I smiled. Shikamaru looked at my shirt.

"What… happened?!" He almost shouted.

"Err." I lifted my shirt so he could see my stomach. It bled through. "I was stabbed by Sasuke."

"… What…" He had a shocked face. "Sasuke?"

"Well, it was Sasuke, but technically it was Hiashi. He was controlling Sasuke." Shikamaru growled at me.

"Why didn't you go to the hospital?"

"It's not that bad." I said quietly. It is." H placed his hand on my stomach and I bit my lip and held back the pain.

"It's not that bad? It's not that bad? To hell with that, Tenten!" Shikamaru shouted and picked me up bridal style.

"It's not like I'm going to die." Shikamaru glared at me.

"Shut up and rest." Shikamaru ordered. "I can't believe you keep on getting hurt like this. You're gonna have to give up sometime. Go back and live your regular life…"

"What?"

"I meant school. It's starting 2 days from now." He said quietly. My eyes widened.

"WHAT?!" I shouted. I coughed and more blood came out.

"Shut up. No talking." Shikamaru gripped tighter on my arm. I winced at the tightness and bit my lip. I wanted to say, _Dammit, Shikamaru! Stop holding me so tight! It hurts more than my stomach, jerk! _But, I kept it in.

**-Hospital-**

"Tenten? Are you awake?" I heard someone's voice and opened my eyes.

"Sakura." I said quietly. "How's Sasuke?"

"Ever since you knocked him out, he's been sleeping." She laughed slightly. "How's your injuries? Please, Tenten, I'm so sorry for what Sasuke did to you." I shook my head.

"It's fine. My injuries don't hurt." I said quietly.

"Please tell me what's going on, Tenten. I need to know. I-" My cell phone on the table started buzzing. I reached for it and put it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Tenten? It's Temari. I haven't spoke to you in so long! What's been going on?! You haven't been keeping in contact with me! How's Neji?" She asked.

"We're… back together." I couldn't remember. Did she know that Neji was a killer? "It all ended fine." I smiled.

"That's good. How are you though?" She asked.

"In the hospital." I said quietly. I winced at how loud she was.

"WHAT?! What the HELL did you do this time?" She shouted.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm fine. I just injured my stomach a bit. But, I'm alright."

"Jesus, Tenten. Why do you keep hurting yourself? You're ALWAYS in the hospital." I laughed quietly.

"I know." I said quietly. "Well…." I saw a doctor walk in. "I guess I'm having another check up thing. I'll talk to you later, Temari." I smiled.

"Alright." I said quietly.

"Bye, Tenten."

"See ya." Sakura stood and looked down at me.

"Tenten. I don't know what you're hiding." She said quietly. "I really want to know what's going on. I know that… you, Neji, Sasuke, and Shikamaru are hiding a secret from me…." I bit my lip.

"Actually, I-"

"Tenten, is that your name?" The doctor asked. I nodded. "Hyuga Neji would like to see you."

"I'll talk to you later, Sakura. Say hi to Sasuke for me please." I walked down the halls with the doctor and into Neji's room. There he laid, it was like he was a statue. His chest slowly raising, as the beeping of the monitor went with the thumping of his heart. I kneeled in front of Neji.

"Neji… are you…" He was silent.

"Tenten." He said quietly. "Why did you stay behind?" He asked. His back was face towards me.

"I needed to save Shikamaru." I said quietly. "I'm sorry. I would have left with you, but I-"

"You could have died!" I heard Neji shout. He still didn't look at me. I tapped his shoulder. "You could have died. What if it wasn't Shikamaru? What if it was Hiashi? Did you really think that you could take him on in your condition?" He asked quietly. He shoved my hand away from his shoulder.

"Neji…" I thought I heard a sniffling sound. "Neji…" I tapped him again but he shot up from his laid down position, and turned to face me.

"You could have died, god dammit!" Neji shouted. There were tears streaming down his face.

_Neji... crying_? I thought.

"If it wasn't Shikamaru, and it was Hiashi, you would have been dead! You had no chance in fighting against him! You were injured so badly!" He shouted at me. He clutched the blanket tighter and all was silent. I blinked and spoke back quietly.

"But, Neji, I knew it was Shika-"

**"It doesn't matter! You could have died! I would have lost you forever! What don't you understand?!"**

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**Another chapter up! Sorry if took so long...**

**Please review, and thank you for reading my story!! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

"I'm… sorry I worried you." I whispered looking away from him. Neji never took his eyes off of me. We were silent, still, in other words, motionless. I never looked at him, and Neji never looked away. I soon felt two hands on the side of my face as I was pulled towards Neji.

"Look at me." He ordered. I opened my eyes immediately. I stared right into Neji's eyes, his pure, white, beautiful eyes. I bit my lip and looked down. "I didn't tell you to look away." I ignored him. "Tenten…" He said my name quietly. I heard him growl, but refused to look at him. Next thing I knew, I was pulled towards Neji again, this time, his lips crashing against mine. His eyes were shut, but mine were wide open. I slowly began to shut and kiss back. Only then, he pulled away. He didn't smirk like he usually did, he kept his plain, emotionless mask on. I sat on the bed next to him, his hands still on my face, he pulled me in for another kiss.

His lips crashed onto mine once again, and he held it there for as long as possible. He pulled away as we both started panting. I was pulled into an embrace, so tight, that I felt as though I couldn't breathe.

"Tenten…" He murmured my name softly. He placed a hand behind my head, and his other on my back. "Throughout my surgery.. In which doctors had to clean out the bullet wound, and then sew it back up, cleaning it with antibiotics… I never once took my mind off of you. Your safety was all I could think of." He said quietly. I was speechless…

"Neji… I thought of your safety too… I wanted you to live so badly. And I even told myself, that if you didn't live… that I'd die with you…." Neji grabbed my by my shoulders.

"No. Don't." He said loudly. "Don't ever think, that you should waste away your life because of me. I've done bad things in my life, things that hurt you too. I nearly killed you, remember?" **(Refer to Target: Tenten) **I nodded.

"But you didn't though." I whispered.

"I nearly did. I killed because I was told to. Tenten, I don't deserve to live. I don't deserve your love. I'm lingering on, only because I want to be with you. I should have died more than 3 times, considering the amount of people I killed before."

"You're different though!" I shouted at him and clung to his shirt. "You've changed…" He wrapped his arms around me again and held me tight.

"Thanks to you." He mumbled. "You changed me. Remember? My only intention coming to Konoha was to assassinate you. And because I fell in love with you, I disobeyed Hiashi's orders and here you are… living, right here in front of me." I sighed and let out a small laugh.

"I remember." I smiled. He still, holding me close, laid down next to me.

"I forgot to ask, your wounds. How are they?" He asked. I bit my lip.

"I'm fine." I said quietly. "It wasn't too bad. Not like yours. Neji, you've been shot in the stomach so many times!" I rubbed my face against his chest.

"It's alright." He said against my hair. I looked up at him and kissed him gently. He left his lips pressed again my jaw. "I love you…" He whispered. I shut my eyes. And then I was out. I felt warm, next to Neji, his arms around me… I looked for his chest to snuggle against. I reached out but I couldn't get anything. His shirt, I couldn't cling to it. I ran my hand down the mattress and felt a sharp pain from the tip of my fingers. I winced in pain, and sat up immediately and looked around.

"N-Neji?" He wasn't here. I looked at my finger. Blood slowly dripped down onto the bed sheets. I ignored it and looked at a piece of paper beside me. I was in the place where… Neji was. I picked it up and opened it.

**Tenten,**

**You're probably wondering where I am right now. I'm afraid I can't tell you, nor can I keep in contact with you. I'm sorry. Remember it's for your safety. If it's true, that Hiashi's after me, then, I can not stay here. I can't keep endangering your life. Go to school, alright? And, if possible, just try to forget about me. I won't be coming back. I'm sorry. Don't wait for me, Tenten.**

**-Neji**

"No… no. Oh god, no!" I flung the sheets off, clinging the paper to my hand. The windows were open, and a small trail of blood was left on the sill. I wiped my finger across it. _It's not dry. He probably just left._ It was raining, no… pouring outside… but, I ran out of the hospital immediately. I was still in hospital clothing, but it didn't matter to me. My hair was all over the place as I ran towards the gate.

"H-Hey! You! Where are you-" A guard stood in my way.

"Get out! Move!" I shouted. There he was. Neji. He was outside the gate, walking away. He wasn't too far. If I could get past this guy… "NEJI!" I shouted his name. He stopped walking. "NEJI! COME BACK! PLEASE!" I begged him. He didn't stir. He just kept walking. "NEJI! STOP! NEJI! COME BACK! DAMMIT!!" I shouted. I tried to push the guard.

"I was told to not let you out. You're Tenten, right?" The guard asked.

"No! No I'm not! I'm NOT Tenten! Who the hell told you that?!" I shouted at him, still watching Neji walk away. He had a backpack over his shoulders, and I could see a gun in his pocket.

"Him." The guard responded.

"WHAT?! And you LISTEN to that guy?!" I shouted. "Get out of the way!" I shoved him and ran towards Neji. "NEJI! Stop!" I shouted. "I'll kill myself if you go!!" I shouted. He stopped walking. "Please, don't go!" I cried. Wait, I was crying? My tears mixed with the rain. "Don't leave me all alone…" Neji didn't look at me, instead, he kept walking. "Stop!" I shouted after him but tripped. I fell into a puddle. I coughed and clutched at my stomach. My wound had opened, and the stitches in my stomach had broke. Blood dripped through the shirt and onto the hard wet floor. The blood, mixed into the puddle. Each drop, of blood diluted the rain. "D-Dammit…" I cursed.

"Stop following me." He ordered. I shook my head.

"I love you!" I shouted.

"I do too…" He whispered. He turned to me and kneeled in front of me, taking my hands. "Tenten. We'll be together, when I end this. But, please do not wait for me…" He looked down. He kissed my forehead. "I'll be with you here." He pointed towards my heart.

"But…." I started. He interrupted me.

"Good bye, Tenten." he stood. I reached out to grab his hand.

"Neji, no!" My vision blurred.

"Take her now…" I heard Neji say.

"You sure about this?" A familiar voice asked.

"Yeah." Neji said quietly. "Shit! Here he comes." I heard Neji run.

"Get back here!" Another familiar voice.

"Sasuke! Don't!" So it was… Sasuke?

"Don't try and stop me." Sasuke's voice boomed back.

"I wasn't planning to." The voice started. That's all I heard… before I collapsed. As I awoke, I screamed. Not knowing where I was, I looked around, breathing heavily.

"Come on. You still don't recognize this place?" A familiar voice, the voice spoke.

"Shikamaru… Your bed, huh?" He sat up from the floor.

"Yeah…" he said quietly.

"Neji. Why'd you let him go?" I asked. He was silent.

"Can't say." He responded.

"Don't hide these things from me! I know he's hiding something! I know… that Neji and you are keeping in contact with each other!" His eyes widened. "Why'd he leave? Why was Sasuke after him?!"

"Sasuke is still under Hiashi's control. Apparently, you only ripped off half of the seal." My eyes widened.

"Oh crap!" I shouted.

"He's still after Neji. Although we all know it's not Sasuke, and that it's Hiashi, Sakura still thinks.. that's it's him." Shikamaru looked down. "She's having troubles…" He threw a backpack at me.

"What?! I'm not leaving anywhere!" I shouted at him. "I'm gonna go after Neji!" I stood but Shikamaru placed his hand on my head. "H-Hey!"

"Nu uh." He shook my head along with his hand. "We're going to school." My eyes widened.

"WHAAT?!" I shouted. "Sch-Sch-Sch-School?!" I sputtered. Shikamaru nodded.

"Get dressed." Shikamaru ordered.

"Not with YOU in here!" I shouted. Shikamaru rolled his eyes. He walked to the window and placed a lock on it. "Hey, what the hell?" Shikamaru smirked.

"I'm not stupid. Don't try to escape when I'm not looking." Shikamaru laughed. "Here's your uniform." He handed me a skirt and one of those short sleeve shirts.

"I'm not gonna wear this…" I muttered. Shikamaru sighed.

"You'll be the one in trouble. Not me, Tenten." Shikamaru walked out of the room.

"B-B-But…." I was silent. I groaned and put on the…. Skirt…. "Come in…" I muttered.

"Alright." He walked in, and his eyes bulged. "Dammmn… Has Neji ever seen you in a skirt?" I pulled it down a bit, cause the skirt, well, a little too short for comfort.

"Shut up…" I mumbled. "No he hasn't and he never will." I groaned and threw my backpack over my shoulders. "Is Temari coming back?" Shikamaru shook his head.

"She's going to a private school back in her hometown." He said quietly. "It's alright."

"Shikamaru. How's school gonna be the same…. We're missing Sasuke-kun, Neji-kun, and Temari-san…" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"What's with the suffixes?" He asked.

"I don't know…" I mumbled. "I'm worried. For Neji. He said he won't keep ocntact with me, and that I should move on… but then, Neji said that he'll always wait for me. But, I don't want to move on." Shikamaru placed a hand on my shoulder.

"It would be best for you to forget him. If something happens to him, as in, if Neji-"

"He won't DIE." I shouted. Shikamaru backed away. "He won't. He won't!"

"Neji was still injured…." He said quietly. "I'm not sure… if it's possible for him to fight off Hiashi, and Sasuke."

"He WILL!" I shouted. "I'm going to school!" I stomped out of the room. Shikamaru looked down and held out his phone. He put it to his ear.

"Look what you're doing to her, Neji…" Shikamaru whispered.

"I'm… sorry. Don't tell her I'm keeping in contact with you. I love her so much. I can't endanger her."

"Neji… calm yourself. I won't let her run… away…" Shikamaru looked out the window.

**-No POV-**

"Oh SHIT!" Shikamaru cursed. "Gotta go!" He hung up on Neji and grabbed his bag. Tenten ran for the gate. "Tenten!" Shikamaru ran out of the house. With those long legs of his, he could catch up to her in no time. The gate was open thank god. Tenten ran out the gate and down the road. Shikamaru ran after her. "Tenten! Come back!!"

"No! Go away!" She shouted at him.

"Tenten!" Tenten stopped running.

_Flashback…._

"_Neji! Don't leave!" Tenten shouted after him._

"…_."_

"_I love you! Stay with me! __**Come back!**__" She shouted._

_Flashback over._

"Shikamaru." I turned to him and fell into his arms. "I miss him already." I didn't cry.

"I know." Shikamaru hugged me back.

"I miss him, so much. You have no idea…"

"School. That's what he wanted." Shikamaru pointed towards the gate.

**-First Day-Tenten's POV-**

"…." I sat in the back of the room. Shikamaru was assigned in the front. I was next to Sakura in the back.

"How are you… Tenten?" She asked. I could tell she was crying. Her eyes were red.

"Fine…" I lied. "You?" I asked.

"Sasuke-kun… he won't return my calls. He hurt you and Neji. And he wouldn't open the door for me. He won't talk to me." A tear fell down her face.

"Sakura. Let me tell you something. Sasuke is not in Konoha anymore. He's… on a trip." I smiled slightly.

"Really?" She asked.

"Neji too…" I said quietly and looked down. "But permanently. I won't see him ever again." I bit my lip and grinned. It was full of sadness, and probably was the weakest smile ever, but… "I'll continue to move on in life. It's what… Neji would have wanted." I looked at the class ahead of me. There was an empty seat in front of me. "I need to use the bathroom." I raised my hand. The teacher looked at me weirdly.

"Tenten, right? Class has not even started."

"I know, I know. I really need to go though." I bit my lip. I wouldn't cry here.

"Fine." I ran down the isle and into the bathroom across the hall from my classroom. I leaned against the wall and cried. "Stop crying. Stop crying!" I spoke to myself. "Neji won't love you otherwise. He won't love you. He won't love a cry baby!" I took in a deep breath of air and let it out. I cleaned my eyes and opened the door.

"Tenten?" It was Ino.

"Get out of the way, blonde-freak." I always hated her. Sakura changed. Hah, I remember. They hated me for talking to Sasuke and Shikamaru. Hah. Ino still hated me for being friends with Shikamaru, and hated Temari even more because she was his girlfriend.

"H-Hey. I just wanted to talk, panda head." She smirked. I turned around.

"What did you call me?" I growled at her.

"PANDA HEAD!!" She shouted.

"Blonde- bitch…" I turned around and cracked my knuckles.

"You Shikamaru-stealer!!" She shouted.

"I'm NOT!" I shouted back at her.

"You're CRAZY! No WONDER why Neji left you!!"

""What…." I cracked my knuckles again.

"You heard me! Neji left you cause you're-" I cracked my knuckles and punched her in the face. She screamed as she held her nose. "… 'hy… 'ou 'uckin BI'CH!" she held her nose. "… 'AMN 'OU TENTEN!" She shouted as blood spilled from her nose. I think I must of broke it.

"That's right!" I shouted. "Did you SAY something, you little white bit-" The teacher ran out and held me back, as the nurse fled to Ino's side.

"Her nose is broken." Shizune quickly said. She called 911 and immediately Ino was transferred to the hospital. Kakashi sensei came out of his classroom and walked to the teacher holding me back.

"LET GO! THAT GIRL! He didn't leave me! He didn't!" All of a sudden, all of my anger, was transformed into tears. I fell to my knees. "He didn't leave. Neji… He… He didn't leave me.. He didn't leave me!!" I shouted again. I grabbed my head. "WHAT THE HELL?! He didn't leave! Neji had something which was important! IMPORTANT! He's protecting me!!" I shouted and stood. "HE'S PROTECTING ME!! NEJI DIDN'T-" Shikamaru stared at me.

"Tenten. Calm down…." Everyone stood on the side. I shook my head.

"No… No… No!" I shouted. "NO! SHE… NEJI.. .I…" Before finishing, I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Did you say Neji?" I stopped crying and looked up at… what?

"N-Neji?" It looked just like him. Long dark brown hair, beautiful white eyes… his eyes…. They had a roundness to them. They were… more kind…

"No. It's not." Shikamaru glared at the boy.

"Yeah. I'm not Neji." He smirked.

"Wh-Who are you…" I brought my hands away from my face. He walked towards me and kneeled. He held his hand out to me and smiled. Wait, smiled? Neji never smiled to me before. Who is this guy?

"So you know my cousin?"

_C-Cousin?!__Then.. He's a Hyuga. Hiashi?! He works… for Hiashi?! Possibly?_ He smirked.

"I'm not who you think."

"Who are you then?!" Shikamaru growled. The boy took his hand away from me and stuffed them in his pocket, looking down at the two of us.

"Hyuga… Kano…." He paused. "Hyuga Kano."

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**Is he Neji's replacement for Tenten? Will Tenten ever see Neji again? Will her feelings change over time?**

**Will Neji die in attempt to bring down his uncle? And will Neji drag Sasuke down with him?**

**Please review!**

**Target: Tenten is the story before this one. SO, if you haven't read that one, you probably should.**

**Also, if you're a sasusaku fan or a nejiten fan, please read some of my other stories and review! if you do, thank you so much!! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

"Hyuga… Kano?" I spoke quietly. Shikamaru stood in front of him.

"Get out of here, now." Shikamaru growled.

"What are you, her boyfriend? I just wanted to ask if she was alright." Kano grinned.

"Get-"

"Tenten!" I heard the Tsunade shout. "Come to my office now!"

"Fine." I stood and brushed myself off. "See you later, Shikamaru." I walked to Tsunade.

"You broke Ino's nose." She looked at me. I nodded.

"I know."

"Why?" She asked. "You might have to be suspended." I shrugged.

"Alright. She was intimidating me. And she was just asking for me to break her nose." I replied and leaned backwards. I put my hands behind my head and shut my eyes. "She's annoying."

"Tenten. What happened to you? You used to be an A student."

"I still am." I responded quickly.

"But your attitude has to change. I understand that Ino can be a troublemaker, but do not fall for her tricks." I rolled my eyes and nodded.

"Alright. So you're letting me off the hook?" I asked. "I did break Ino's nose."

"Do you want to be suspended." Part of me wanted to say yes, so that I could be away from Shikamaru and chase after Neji. But the other part wanted to say no, cause my mother would kill me. For going with Neji, for leaving without asking, and for now getting suspended.

"No. I don't." I answered.

"Then do not get into any fights. I want you to go back to your class. Alright?" She asked. I nodded.

"Alright." I responded. I stood and walked out of the office and into the class. Shikamaru stared at me. "You okay?" Was written all over his face. I nodded towards him. Sakura's eyes widened as she saw me. "You get in trouble?" was written on her face. I smirked and shook my head at her.

"Take a seat, Tenten." Kakashi's voice boomed.

"Alrighty." I responded and took a seat in the back.

"We have a new student." The boy walked in. My eyes widened. He looked like Neji, remember? It was that boy. His name, was.. What was his name, again? "Introduce yourself."

"I'm Hyuga Kano. Nice to meet you all." Kano smiled.

"You'll be sitting in the back next to.. Tenten. The girl over there." Kakashi pointed. I rested my head on my hand.

_Damn. I'm sitting next to that guy._ I sighed.

"Tenten, raise your hand." He ordered me. Lazily, I raised my hand and Kano walked over and sat down in the seat next to me. "Now. Class, today we will be talking about…………"

"I'm Kano." He held out his hand.

"I know. And I'm Tenten." I said quietly, ignoring his hand, still looking forward.

"I saw you sock that blonde girl." He said quietly.

"Another witness." I murmured.

"Well, I guess you knew my cousin, right?" He asked. I nodded.

"We're dating." I mumbled.

"R-Really? He's actually dating someone?!" He sounded shocked. I nodded again.

"Yeah. Me." I responded.

"Wow. I never knew Neji, the ice cube, could melt into the arms of someone like you."

"Excuse me? Someone like me?" I asked. I turned to look at him as a blush rose to my face. He was just as beautiful as Neji. His eyes were different though. Unlike Neji's, they were more kindness in them. Neji's was more emotionless.

"Like what you see?" He asked.

"You're nothing like Neji." I answered coldly. "Nothing like him."

"You know nothing about him." Kano answered placing his chin on his hand.

"I know everything about him." I replied back to him.

"Oh really?" He asked.

"He's a hired killer. Or was one at least." He had a shocked look in his eyes.

"H-He told you?!" He asked.

"Yep. I was actually his target. But, he fell in love with me and quit being one. Too bad that uncle of his won't give up on him." I sighed. "That's why… he left."

"Oh. I see." Kano smiled. "Well, get over him already. You guys aren't dating anymore. He left you." I glared at him. "I don't know how he could've fallen in love with you."

"Y-You take that back." I stuttered.

"Make me." He smirked. I bit my lip. "Can't, can you?" He asked. I kicked him underneath the desk. "Sh-Shit!" He cursed quietly. I grinned.

"Ass hole." I muttered.

"I like you. You're feisty. And you have a great attitude. Since Neji's not here, how about you be my girlfriend?" He asked and grinned. "I look just like him. You can even call me Neji if you want."

"Do I look desperate?" I asked." You're not going to take Neji's place even if you tried."

"So is that a yes?" Kano asked. I growled at him.

"It's a NO. N-O." I spelled for him. "While you're at it. Stop talking to me. It's annoying." I placed my hand over my ears. Kakashi looked at me.

"Excuse me, Tenten?" Kakashi asked. I looked at him and took away my hands.

"Kano is talking to me. Kakashi-sensei, can you please remove him from sitting next to me?" I asked. Kakashi shook his head and smirked.

"That's his seat." Kakashi responded.

"No it's not. It's Neji's!" I blurted out and covered my mouth immediately.

"Tenten. Neji does not go to this school anymore." Kakashi responded.

"I know." I muttered quickly. "Sorry for interrupting." I apologized.

**-Bell rings-**

I walked to my locker and sighed loudly.

"Tenten. Did you get in trouble?" Shikamaru and Sakura asked at the same time. I shook my head.

"Got let off the hook." Sakura smiled.

"That's good. It would be really bad if you got suspended." She responded. I raised my eyebrow.

"You don't have to worry…" I responded.

"Cause, as your friend, I'm worried about everything." She grinned. Sakura nodded at me and waved. "I gotta get moving. My class is on the other side of the building. See you, Tenten… Shikamaru." She walked away.

"Sakura." I smiled. "She's a good friend."

"Yeah." Shikamare added. "Stay away from that Kano." I laughed.

"No problem."

"No matter how much he looks like Neji…" Shikamaru added in again. I nodded.

"It'll be fine." I smiled. He nodded.

"Meet me at my locker after school. I'm walking you home." He responded. I smiled.

"Alright. See you later." He walked away. I went back to getting my books out of my locker.

"Hey there." Damn that Kano.

"What?!" I almost shouted at him.

"Go out with me." He ordered.

"I'm not a dog." I responded. "And I will NOT go out with you. NEVER."

"Please?" He looked at me. That… LOOK. It was SO similar to Neji. It was harder to breathe. My heart thumped loudly in my chest. And my mouth spoke on it's own.

"Yes." My eyes widened as a grin made it's way to his place. "I mean no! I mean, WAIT! I meant no!"

"You said yes already. Tonight… We're going to eat ramen. Alright?" He asked.

"No!" I shouted.

"Too bad. We're gonna. Cause you said yes." He pulled out a tape recorder.

"_**Please?"**_

"_**Yes."**_

He rewind the tape and played that part over and over and over again. I growled.

"You're a jerk!" I ran off to my next class. _He's not Neji! He will never take Neji's place… why… is this happening…_ I bit my lip. _Neji. I love only you. And even though you said… not to wait for you. I still will! Please. Listen to me, Neji. Hear my voice. I want you to listen to what I have to say. This is what I'm saying now. Please, Neji. Please come back to me…_

**-Somewhere… Neji's POV-**

_D-Dammit._ I kept running and jumped up into a tree. "That Uchiha doesn't stop." He saw Sasuke run by the tree. _I've… been running for more than 2 days…_ I wiped my forehead. I reached into my bag to make sure my gun was ready. _Tenten. I really miss you right now._ I quickly reached into my bag and pulled out a photo. _Tenten._ I thought and shoved it back into my bag. I jumped down from the tree and ran again. _Is that… Misaki?_

She was standing in front of the headquarters. I growled.

"Neji-san. I know you're there. I have no guns." She raised her hands up. "If you want to shoot, then shoot." she replied. I walked up behind her and held the gun pointed to her head.

"Misaki. What are you doing here. You were ordered to capture Tenten." She nodded.

"I know… but… I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to be a hired killer." I felt a tear on my hand. "Tenten. She spoke to me. I don't want to continue doing this." She looked down.

"Go now." I ordered her. She nodded.

"I have to tell Hiashi I'm leaving." I shook my head. I reached for the ear piece and threw it to the ground.

"Go… now." I ordered. I moved my gun away from her head. She looked at me confused. I stomped on it with my feet and crushed it underneath my sneakers. "Go!" I shouted. She nodded.

"Thanks…" She ran off. _Good bye, Neji._ I slowly walked into the quarters, looking behind me, shutting the door. I bit my lip and sighed, holding the gun close to me.

_Force Hiashi to come back with me. Send him to jail. Apologize to Tenten. And then… if possible, ask her to marry me.__Marrying Tenten? That would be… heaven on earth. Tenten… Sh-Shit!_ I cursed and shook my head. _Putting Hiashi in bars is the only thing that should be on my mind right now!_ I walked slowly and stood outside of Hiashi's room.

"Looking for me, Neji?" I turned around quickly and did a single back flip to distance myself from Hiashi. My heart pounded in my chest, like a bomb about to blow. He had a gun in his hand, and I had one in mine. "Sneaking in without being invited? Without knocking? Shameful, Neji-kun. Have I taught you no manners?" I growled.

"The only thing you taught me was to kill!" I shouted. "You bastard! Come with me to Konoha, or I'll have to kill you here and now!" I shouted holding out my gun at Hiashi. My hand shook.

"You can't pull the trigger…" He smirked. I bit my lip. I couldn't. I promised Tenten that I would never kill again. But, I had the perfect opportunity to shoot and kill the guy. But, I couldn't. I don't know why. Tenten would move on without me. I told her not to wait, and continue her life as if I never existed. So why could I shoot Hiashi?! "Come on. I'm waiting."

"Shut up!!" I shouted at him and pulled out another gun.

"Ooh. Two guns. Aim one here." He pointed to his heart. "And the other one here." He pointed to his head. I paused and Hiashi smirked. "Do it. Come on. I know you can. I taught you so much."

"Sh-Shut up already!!" I shouted. _I can't…._ "Come with me to Konoha."

"You wish." Hiashi snapped a finger. I heard footsteps behind me. I quickly turned around to get knocked in the back by a gun. "Nice job Sasuke." And then I was out.

**-Tenten's POV-**

"Shikamaru.." I mumbled as we walked home together.

"What?"

"What if I said that I was gonna go out with Kano?" I asked him.

"I'd tie you up and leave you in my basement. Why?" He asked. I laughed nervously.

"No reason."

"Oh… Tenten! No. You…. TENTEN!" Shikamaru shouted and grabbed my shoulders. "You said yes?!"

"He looked at me like Neji always did. And somehow I said yes! I tried to say no! but he stopped me and told me tonight at ichiraku's!" I shouted back.

"You idiot!" Shikamaru shouted and grabbed his forehead. "I don't know what to do with you."

"Neji said I had to move on! So now I am! What's the problem, Shikamaru?" I asked.

"… I thought you'd wait for him." Shikamaru looked away.

"I AM waiting. I didn't mean to say YES!" I repeated. Shikamaru let go of my shoulders.

"You don't mind me coming along, right? You won't see me… I just need to protect you."

"Why?" I asked.

"For Neji. That was his last words. And I haven't heard from him since. He said, 'Protect Tenten for me, Shikamaru.' and so that's what I'm going to do." Shikamaru smirked.

"Alright then." I scratched my head.

"Don't wear anything EXPOSING!" Shikamaru added in.

"No problem. I'll wear a tank top and a pair of long pants." I smiled. He nodded. 'Thanks for walking me. See you."

"Yep." Shikamaru walked away.

"Hey, mom. I have somewhere I'm gonna be tonight, so-" My mom was drinking tea and talking with Kano.

"Tenten-chan! This is your new boyfriend? He looks a bit like Neji, but, he's very cute and polite."

"KANO?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?!" I splurted. "GET OUT!!" I pointed to the door.

"Kano-kun offered to help you with homework. And then the two of you can go out to dinner." She smiled. I shook my head frantically.

"Mother! KICK him OUT! O-U-T!" I shouted.

"Tenten-chan…" She looked at me fiercely. I bit my lip.

"Kano. Upstairs. NOW." I shouted dragging my bag up the stairs. He followed. I slammed the door shut behind me. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I'm your boyfriend now." He responded and looked at me.

"S-So?!" _Stop giving me that NEJI-LOOK._ I growled.

"Homework." He pointed.

"And you're not my boyfriend." I growled louder.

"Sure." I sat down and we got out homework down.

"So, Ten-chan…" he fiddled with his pencil. "Tell me everything you know about us."

"Don't call me that." I broke the lead on my pencil. "NEVER call me Ten-chan!"

"That's what your mom says that Neji called you."

"Yeah, NEJI. Not you."

"Well, if I'm calling you Ten-chan, I'd like you to call me Kano-kun." He grinned at me.

"I'd rather cut off my tongue then say your name with that suffix." I responded.

"You're funny. I like you even more. Your mom's really nice too." He smiled. Neji never smiled….

"I…" I was out of words to say. "Jerk.." I simply muttered. We were working on homework, when suddenly I felt his hand on top of mine. I looked at his hand on mine. "Get your hands off of mine unless you want a free tattoo on your face." He didn't respond. "Kano!" I looked at him. And…. The way he looked at me, it was the way Neji looked at me. Suddenly I lost all my tension. He looked like Neji. Maybe he didn't act like Neji, but….

_No. Don't kiss him. Don't. Move away now, Tenten._ I told myself. _He's not Neji. He's NOT Neji. Neji. Yeah, Neji! Neji's said not to wait for him. I'm going to wait for him! That's the promise I made myself. I will wait for him. Neji. I love Ne-_

My eyes widened as I felt my lips occupied by…

_**K-Kano?!**_

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**Hopefully I'll be able to update soon. First day of school tomorrow. So… I don't think I can update as fast anymore.**

**But, please review. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

My eyes were wide as I felt Kano's lips on mine.

_Neji… _I thought. It looked like him. And I began to shut my eyes. All of a sudden, I felt something slide along my lower lip. My eyes widened. _Not Neji. It's… Kano!_ I roughly pushed him away. "St-Stop!" I shouted. He stared at me, as I kept my arm over my mouth. "Wh-What the hell are you doing?!"

"Kissing you." He responded. I felt like slapping him, but I kept my arms close to my body, afraid he'd do something else. I bit my lip.

"I'm dating someone!" I shouted. "I'm with your cousin, you idiot! You can't just kiss me out of no where, you… you IDIOT!" I shouted once more. He stood.

"He's not here is he?" Kano asked.

"…." I backed myself against the wall.

"That's what I thought. How much do you know about us, anyways?" He asked.

"Hiashi…. Hyuga. He's the boss. Hyuga's… they're hired killers. And Neji once was too. Lemme guess, you're one of them." I muttered coldly, still covering my mouth. He laughed.

"No. I'm not even close to being a hired killer. Although, I must say, that I was offered by my uncle." He laughed again. "That's such a stupid job. Who'd take it?"

"Neji did…" I said quietly.

"He was forced to." Kano said quietly. "We… were pretty close. Me and Neji.. Before Neji's dad died, and his mother too." I nodded.

_Oh Neji._ I thought. _You say to move on, but I can't._ "That's still…. You can't just DO that!" I covered my mouth again. "Y-You can't just kiss me like that!" I shouted. He moved closer and kneeled down in front of me.

"Ten-chan…" He said quietly. More tears fled from my eyes.

"Neji called me that…. I know why he left." I said quietly. "I know what he does is to protect me. But… he always leaves me alone. All alone. And it hurts… I really hurts." I cried as tears rolled down from my face. Kano brought his hand and wiped the tears away.

"Tenten…" I bit my lip and lunged at him. "Woah-" I wrapped my arms around him and cried. I just needed some comfort, and him being here, was good… "You okay?" I shook my head.

"NO. I'm not. I… miss him so much…" I cried. He placed a hand on my head, and one on my back, as I continued to cry into his chest.

"You're gonna ruin my shirt. We still have somewhere to go tomorrow, remember?" He asked. I looked at him and nodded. The kindness in his eyes. He may not be Neji… but, something about him. I smiled. "There we go. Your smile's really pretty. Not as pretty as you, but… still." He muttered and looked away blushing. "And… well, your eyes are really beautiful too."

"Really?" I asked. _Neji never said that to me… Wait! Neji's given up EVERYTHING for you._ I shook my head quickly.

"Yeah. Really. I think you're gorgeous." He ran his finger along my face. I got off of him and stood.

"Thanks. Let's go now."

"Excited?" Kano asked. I rolled my eyes.

"As if." I pulled out my phone and texted Shikamaru quickly. **We're heading to Ichiraku's now.** We walked down the streets. Most people thought he was Neji. Many people, who've seen me and Neji together before, waved to us. Kano just ignored them, leaving me to groan. "Alright. Tell me about yourself, Kano." I took a bite of noodles.

"I'm a Hyuga. But, I'm not a hired killer." Kano laughed quietly. "I pretty much said no to my uncle's offer." Kano rested his head on his hand. "Practically, I'm just a normal hot looking guy."

"Cocky bastard." I reminded him.

"Hah. That too." He laughed. "Anyways, I just recently came to Konoha."

"Sure." I responded.

"Tell me about yourself." I nodded.

"Um, I live with my mom. My dad and brother have… passed away. And I'm pretty normal too." I shrugged.

"Really?" He asked. "Hanging around a hired killer… and having him as your boyfriend, is not normal to me." I smiled.

"I guess not. I've been captured more than once. Threatened to die more than once. Had a gun pointing to my head more than once. Um, yeah. I've ran away from home, slept in a tree, and has had to go to the hospital for a lot of reasons."

"Reasons? Are you sure? Or are they all injuries and wounds you received from Hiashi's killers?" He asked. I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue at him.

"If you know so much about me, why did you ask first of all?" I asked and rolled my eyes.

"I like hearing your voice." A blush rose to my cheek.

"U-Uh. That's really nice of you…" I smiled.

"Let me treat you then." He grinned and placed money on the table.

"No. that's okay. You know, I'll pay." I reached for my wallet when his hand wrapped around my wrist. I was silent and slowly looked at him. He leaned in closer. I began to shut my eyes when I heard a voice in my head.

**That's right. Don't wait for me. Move on. Kiss my cousin. Do it. Don't mind me. Forget about me. Please.**

_N-Neji?!_ My eyes snapped open and I looked away. "I can't, Kano." I said quietly. He looked away and nodded.

'I understand." He responded. "You're still in love with Neji, aren't you?" He asked. "Why can't you just forget about him? He left you, Tenten."

"I know. But, I still love him so much." I said quietly. Kano nodded.

"Well, hopefully you can forget him. Can you try to learn to love me?" He asked. I looked down.

"I don't know, Kano." I responded. "He's… the one I love the most." I said quietly. Kano nodded.

"I understand. But, Tenten, I think it's time to forget about him." Kano mumbled and stood. "Since I paid, I would like you to come with me to the park."

"What? That wasn't part of the deal!" I shouted. He grinned.

"Well, you can't really say no…" He muttered.

"And why not?!"

"I got your wallet." He held it in front of me. I reached out and he pulled away. "Hah. Come on, Tenten." He ran off.

"H-Hey!!" I shouted. I ran when my phone started ringing. "What?!" I shouted into it.

"Shikamaru. Where are you running off with him?" He asked.

"Damn bastard took my wallet!"

"WHAT?!" Shikamaru shouted. "That troublesome-"

"He wants me to go to the park with him! He'll give it to me there." I responded.

"That jerk."

"You don't have to follow me. I'll be fine." I said quietly. "Kano, you son of a-"

"No swears, Tenten!" He shouted.

"You're a fuc-"

"No no no!" Kano shouted again. I ran faster.

"Bastard!" I shouted.

**-Neji's POV-**

_Damn that Sasuke._ I was tied by metal chains to a wall. This time, my hands tied with extra chains behind my back. I laid on my side. There was a blindfold over my eyes. _Stupid chains. Stupid._ I struggled to break free. I heard foot steps coming towards me. I remained silent.

"I know you're awake."

_Sasuke._ "What do you want, Uchiha?" I asked. He was silent.

"Hm." All of a sudden I heard more foot steps.

"Hiashi." I muttered.

"Correct. Sasuke come here." I heard Sasuke walk away and then I heard a snap sound and then a thump. Then I heard dragging sounds. Next, chains.

"What the hell are you doing, Hiashi…" I asked quietly.

"He's done enough." Hiashi said. I then knew what he was doing.

"Don't you dare kill him!" I shouted.

"No worries." Hiashi said quietly. "I'm just going to tie him up here with you. Until he agrees to be my hired killer, he will starve and die. So will you, Neji-san. Think wisely. Will you join my team?"

"Why the hell would I join you again? So I could take away more lives?!" I shouted. Hiashi walked towards me and pulled down my blindfold.

"Shut up." He said coldly. "I'm leaving now. Tenten's going to come here next. Then that Nara. And everyone who knows about us."

"There's no US! Misaki left you!" I shouted.

"Oh well." Hiashi responded and shrugged.

"Hiashi…. Leave Tenten out of this!" I shouted.

"Become my killer and I'll never talk about her again."

"I'm not falling for that stupid trick ever again." I muttered loudly.

"Then I have no choice but to go after her." Hiashi left the lights on and left. I struggled to break free. I slowly sat up and panted heavily. Heaving in a breathe….

"DAMMIT!!" I shouted. _I left Tenten to protect her! I left her because I love her! I hurt her so much for her own safety. And it's still no use. It's no use. Hiashi still wants to capture Tenten…_ "Dammit. Dammit. Dammit!" I cursed. Sasuke slowly sat up. I glared at him.

"Where am I?" Sasuke looked around and tried to move. "Hey, what the hell?"

"Sasuke. You idiot. You were under Hiashi's control the whole time." I muttered coldly.

"I was?" Sasuke asked.

"You don't even know what you did…." I muttered again. His eyes widened. But, I refused to look at them.

"What… did I do?" Sasuke's voice was shaky.

"You pushed your girlfriend away, and almost shot her." I heard Sasuke fidget.

"N-No way." Sasuke stuttered. "No. No. Sakura?"

"Yeah. She doesn't know what's going on. It's better if it's that way." I responded.

"Sakura… I…"

"You don't know what you did to Tenten, did you?" I asked. "You don't know what you did to her, do you, Sasuke?" I looked at him. Sasuke shuddered and looked away. He was silent. "She freed you somehow. For a second. She was talking to you, and trying to help you understand, when you ran a sword right through her." Sasuke froze. I could see it. It was like his heart stopped beating. Sasuke looked at me, a horrified look on his face.

"I did… what do her?" Sasuke asked quietly. I looked at Sasuke angrily.

"You ran the fucking sword through her, god dammit!" I cursed. "And you shot me two times!! I was protecting your girlfriend cause she wouldn't leave you behind! And you shot my in the stomach!" I shouted. "Sasuke, you're such an IDIOT."

"I know." Sasuke said quietly. "I can't… believe I did that to you guys." I heard sounds coming from him and looked at him angrily. My face suddenly changed, into a sympathetic look. I saw darkened spots on the cold ground coming from Sasuke's face. He was… crying?

"I'm sorry." Sasuke said quietly. "I can't do things right. I almost killed you and Tenten. I hurt Sakura not physically, but mentally and emotionally…"

"Yes you did." I replied. "But, you can apologize later. We have to get to Tenten as soon as possible. Shikamaru too. And maybe Sakura."

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"Hiashi wants them to either become a hired killer, or he'll kill them because they know so much about us." I said quietly. Sasuke was silent. "Come on. We have to get out of here! Shikamaru is protecting Tenten, but no one's protecting Sakura! There's no way I can ensure her safety!!" I shouted. Sasuke sprung up but was pulled back down by the chains.

"Shit." Sasuke cursed.

_Shikamaru's not the only one protecting Tenten though…_ Neji looked at the window. _Kano…_

**-Tenten's POV-**

"KANO!" I shouted. "GIMME BACK MY WALLET!" I shouted. He turned around and I tackled him. We rolled down the hill and somehow he landed on top of me. "Ah, god dammit! I can't breathe!" Kano placed his hands next to my head. I looked up at him. "Kano?"

"Sorry." He responded and put the walled back in my pocket. "I just wanted to spend some more time with you. That's all. I just… want to spend more time with you, Tenten." I blushed.

"Okay." I said quietly. "We can spend time together. As friends though, okay?" He nodded and got off of me.

"Kano… can I ask you something?" I looked at him. He nodded.

"Sure." He responded quickly.

"Why'd you suddenly show up out of no where?" I asked.

"Huh?" He asked.

"You.. As soon as Neji left, you arrived, and took his place immediately. Falling in love with me and sitting in Neji's chair, and making me feel better.. It's as if Neji personally-"

"Tenten." He looked at me and took my hand in his. I looked at him. "I do really like you. In fact…." I sat up and looked down at him, my hand still around his.

"Kano." I said his name quietly. He sat up and looked me in the eyes.

"In fact, Ten-chan… I think I love you." He said quietly. I blushed brightly.

"K-Kano…" I repeated his name, in stutters. He placed a hand on my cheek.

"Tenten." He leaned closer to me. I didn't push him away. In fact, I felt… different. Since Neji left me, I wasn't able to stand up on my own. I was going crazy cause he wasn't around. I met Kano, I **just** met Kano. And already, he's filled my heart up. I love him? I'm not sure. Of course I still love Neji, but he wasn't here. He left me. Kano… he's… just like Neji, except- "Tenten. Please. I won't ever leave you." Yeah. That's the difference. He won't ever leave me. "Tenten?" I smiled and leaned forwards towards him.

"Kano…-kun." I added the suffix. He smiled and leaned in too. All of a sudden my phone rang. I jumped up. "Sorry. One second." I picked it up. "Hello?"

"Tenten. It's Neji."

"N-Neji?!" I almost shouted. My heart beat happily in my chest.

"Yes. Tenten. It's me. I'm at the gate. Come see me, please. Don't bring anything or anyone with you." I smiled happily. Neji was back for me. But, Kano… I looked at him. His face was angry, and I wasn't sure why. "Tenten?"

"Yeah! I'm coming!" I grinned. "I'll be there in a-" Kano slammed my phone shut. "K-Kano!"

"Tenten…" He growled my name angrily.

"Y-Yeah?" I stuttered.

"Don't go…" He wrapped his arms around me.

"B-But, it's Neji. He-"

"IT'S NOT NEJI! IT'S NOT NEJI!!" He shouted. "IT'S NOT!" I never heard him shout before. He looked away.

"H-How do you know?" I asked.

"Cause… Neji's held captive.. Right now." Kano said quietly.

"How do you know?!" I asked again.

"That's the reason I came." He responded.

"Wh-What?"

"Neji got captured by Hiashi. The one who is talking to you is Hiashi himself. It's not Neji."

"… Neji… Wait. What's the reason you came here for?!" I shouted loudly. He hugged me tightly all of a sudden.

"Tenten…." He mumbled my name quietly. "You were suspicious and was on the right track too. Tenten. When you said that I suddenly appeared and took Neji's place. His seat, his place in your heart… It was planned."

"Huh?" I asked. My mind was spinning, my heart was hurting in my chest, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. My throat was burning, and every time I swallowed, it was like swallowing acid. I knew what he was going to say.

"It was planned, Tenten. Everything. Me spending time here with you. Me falling in love with you, and taking Neji's place. You falling in love with me…" Kano said quietly. "I knew how to make you happy. I knew who you were already. I knew… everything about you, Tenten."

"Kano!" I screamed his name. "What are you getting at?!"

"**I'm here to protect you. Neji sent me to take his place. To take his place next to you, to take his place as your friend, your boyfriend, your lover. He told me everything about you. He told me how to make you fall in love with me, so you could forget about him. Tenten. Neji sent me so you could forget about him. He sent me… because he doesn't want you to suffer…"**

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**I'm sorry for taking so long! I hope this chapter was worth the extremely long wait! I've had SO much to do! I've had lots of homework, kung fu, wushu, tai chi, and competition classes/prep. I have a tournament in New Jersey coming up, so I had to practice a lot!!**

**I'll try to update soon. Thanks for waiting! And I apologize for it taking so long. Bows over and over**


	13. Chapter 13

"…." I couldn't utter out the words. "… Wh…" I started to turn cold.

"Neji sent me here…."

"_**Kano." Neji walked to him.**_

"_**H-Hey. What are you doing here? Are you under Hiashi's order to recruit me?"**_

"_**I'm done with Hiashi. I need a favor."**_

"_**Sure." Kano responded.**_

"_**Protect Tenten. Please."**_

"_**What? Who's this Tenten person?" Kano asked. Neji placed his hand over his heart.**_

"_**I love her. She's… my girlfriend. Hiashi's after her. Please… I won't be able to protect her."**_

"_**You won't? Why not?" Kano asked.**_

"_**Please. Just… hear me out." Neji put his hand on Kano's shoulder.**_

"_**Okay."**_

"_**Tenten. I was on a mission to kill her. I fell in love with her. Hiashi wants me back after I quit. You need to protect her for me. He's going to be after her. I have to leave her for now. I need you to make her happy. For me, okay, Kano? I don't want her thinking about me, worrying about me. I don't want her talking about me either. She'll be suffering, knowing that I left her. She'll cry, and I don't want that."**_

"_**So you want me to protect your girl?" Kano asked and scratched his head.**_

"_**Yes. But, I know you'll fall in love with her. So-"**_

"_**Don't? Alright." Kano responded.**_

"_**No. Do. You can fall in love with her. I want you to. I want her to fall in love with you too. I want her to completely forget about my existence. Take my place in her heart…"**_

"_**Wh-What?!" Kano almost shouted. "You're out of your mind!!"**_

"_**No. I'm not. It's not safe for me to be with her. Just do it, Kano. I have to leave now." Neji turned his back to Kano. "Just, please…. She's in Konoha. You'll know who she is immediately. And Kano…" **_

"_**Y-Yeah?"**_

"_**I… really love her. And I trust you with her life. I'm giving her to you." With that Neji left.**_

"Neji… said… that?" I asked.

"Yes. He did. So here I am. And Neji was right. I love you." Kano held me tightly. I shook my head.

"Kano… I can't. After, Neji did that."

"I know. Neji gave up everything to make you happy."

"Neji…" I bit my lip to stop myself from crying. I smiled and pulled away. "Thanks, Kano. I always… did want to know what was going on in Neji's head." I grinned. "Alright. I'm gonna go home. Let's hang out tomorrow, okay?" I asked. He nodded. "Bye, Kano…" I turned away from him and walked fast. My vision was blurring as I walked and tripped. I stumbled but stood. Neji's words… they were confusing me, they were clouding my mind. All I could do was wish he was here. _Neji. Where are you, my love? Neji… Neji-kun…_ I thought and reached out.

"_**I want her to completely forget about my existence. Take my place in her heart…."**_

"_**I need you to make her happy. I don't want her thinking about me, worrying about me. I don't want her talking about me either. She'll be suffering, knowing that I left her. She'll cry. I don't want that."**_

"_**I… really love her. And I trust you with her life. I'm giving her to you."**_

_Neji. You idiot. I'm.. no one to give. I belong to you. You belong to me. Neji. Please come back._ I reached out for what I thought was my door but grabbed nothing. I fell to my knees and coughed. _Neji. Come back. I don't love Kano. I did for a while, only because he was like you. Because he looked like you, because he cared for me. But, Neji… it was all an order. He didn't come and fall in love with me. Neji, you told him to…_ I coughed again and stood. _Home. I need… to get home._ I looked forward, and I saw Neji. I swear, I saw him. He held his hand to me. I reached out, but he retracted.

"_You're not mine anymore. You're Kano's. Stay with him. Let me be. I'm suffering enough, Tenten. I don't need to see you cry. Don't cry, Tenten."_

"H-How… can I cry? Neji… you took everything I am with you…" I mumbled. "Please. Give me your hand…" I reached out. Neji turned and walked away. "C-Come back. Neji…" I walked forward and slipped. I fell onto the dock. I heard the water sloshing around me. I looked forward and there Neji was. He was standing on the water.

"_Turn away from me. Go back to Kano, Tenten. Please. For me."_

"No… I don't want to." I know it was him. But, how could… I mean, the water. He was floating. I walked forwards. "Neji…" I slowly saw him walk away. He was disappearing. Before my eyes. He was vanishing. He was taking my heart with him. My heart was connected to his. "Don't, please." I kept stumbling forwards and before I knew it, down. There was no where else to walk, but to fall into the waters. The cold yet… warm waters. I slowly sank._ It's all Hiashi's fault. The me and Neji are suffering. It's all his fault, isn't it? Neji… if you're captured… then I want to be captured too. As long as I'm with you._ I kept sinking lower into the water. I opened my eyes to see someone swimming down. _Wh-Who… Neji._

It was my last thought before I blacked out.

**-Neji's POV-**

"Dammit." I heard Sasuke curse. I suddenly felt a pounding at my chest. My heart suddenly started beating faster. My chest was burning, like my heart was trying to burst out, break all my ribs and kill me. I suddenly coughed loudly. Sasuke looked at me as I coughed again.

"D-Dammit." I cursed loudly. I kept on coughing.

"What's wrong?!" Sasuke shouted. I shook my head.

"I don't know." I muttered as I felt my chest burn even more. I fell to my side.

"NEJI!" Sasuke shouted.

_It hurts. My heart wants to rip itself out. What's going on. Why's this happening? Why? Why… My chest…. It's exploding. I feel the burning sensation, as if something stabbed me. It's throbbing. A sword, yes. It must be a sword. Sliding itself through my heart back and forth. Then slowly cutting my heart out, carving it out of my chest._ I gagged and coughed again, more blood coming out. _WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH ME?!_

"Neji. Neji!!" Sasuke shouted. I stopped coughing and laid there motionless and then started to breath normally.

"I'm… fine." I started to mumbled and sat up.

"What the hell just happened to you?! It was like you were having a heart attack or something!" I looked at the ground and in front of me, it looked like a ruined heart. My blood I spat out.. Looked like a ruined heart? Suddenly blood stopped flowing. It froze in it's place. My heart stopped pumping. My brain stopped thinking. My mouth went dry, and my eyes widened.

_No. Tenten. Oh god, no. Oh god. Tenten. No, oh please no. Oh please no!_ All of a sudden I started panting and sweating. Sasuke shouted at me.

"What are you doing?!" Sasuke shouted.

"Something happened. I feel it." I breathed in loudly and exhaled quietly. "Something's happening. Tenten. Something's happened to her. I know it." I looked at Sasuke.

"Wh-What?!" Sasuke shouted.

"Something happened. Something happened." I repeated over and over.

**-Sasuke's POV-**

"Neji, you're scaring the shit out of me." I sweared. Neji kept on saying 'Something happened to Tenten'. "What happened to her, Neji?!"

"Something happened. Something happened to Tenten." Neji kept breathing loudly and exhaling, repeating the same set of words over and over.

"NEJI!" I shouted his name. He looked at me, and it scared the crap out of me. "Neji! You look like someone just dipped your face in something ugly!!" I shouted.

"Sasuke. Something happened to Tenten."

"I know that! Say something else besides something!"

"I'm… scared.." Neji mumbled. "Tenten. I felt a sharp pang in my chest right now. And I don't know what's going on. But somehow, I know it has something to do with Tenten."

"Then let's break the hell out of here!" I shouted and pulled at the chains.

"It's not possible." Neji mumbled. "It's not possible."

"Shut the HELL up saying it's so god damn impossible!!" I shouted and fell to my side. I brought my mouth to my pants and slowly pulled out a gun. "Hiashi must have left it in my pocket," I didn't have any hands at the moment so I kicked it back, so that, I could use my hands. I then pointed towards Neji.

"Wh-What the hell are you-" I fired. "SASUKE!" I heard Neji shout.

"What?" I asked. "Free me now." Neji looked at his hands. His hands shook… "COME ON, jerk!" I shouted at him. Neji pulled the trigger to the gun and freed me. "Do you know how to get out of here?" I asked. Neji slowly nodded. I kicked him in the knee.

"WHAT?"

"Hurry up! If you felt something happening to Tenten, it could be Hiashi!" Neji ran out the door.

"H-Hey! Wait!!" I shouted.

**-Tenten's POV-**

_Neji. Come back. Neji. Please. Don't leave me by myself. Kano will never replace you. You said for him to replace you. But he simply can not. Cause, if you sent him to comfort me and not have me suffer… It just, Neji, just makes me want to love you more than I already have._

"Get up."

_Neji. Please. Come back for me. Before it's too late. Before-_

"Tenten. Snap out of it." I heard someone's voice.

_Neji? Neji. Please. Be Neji._

"Wake up, you troublesome troublemaker."

_It's… just Shikamaru._ I opened my eyes slowly and coughed loudly. "Augh, god dammit!"

"What?" Shikamaru asked.

"Where the hell am I?" I cursed as I sat up. I coughed and water came out of my mouth and spilled all over… "Shikamaru, is this your jacket?" I asked. He nodded. He was in his tank top. And well, we were in the middle of the woods.

"I saw you fall into the lake. I didn't know what the hell you were doing, but I saved you. God, why are you trying to commit suicide?!" Then I remembered.

"_**I need you to make her happy. I don't want her thinking about me, worrying about me. I don't want her talking about me either. She'll be suffering, knowing that I left her. She'll cry. I don't want that."**_

"Neji." I cried. "He-"

"Yeah, I know." Shikamaru looked away.

"What?"

"I know who Kano is. I know everything."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ANYTHING?!" I shouted at him and coughed out more water. Shikamaru patted my back. I coughed out more and shivered.

"Keep the jacket over you." He mumbled.

"Wh-Why do you care?! You…" I looked down. And I wasn't wearing much. I was wearing Shikamaru's loose t-shirt. "Y-You stripped me!" I shouted at him.

"You were going get pneumonia if I didn't get you into something warm!" Shikamaru shouted at me. "Why are you planning to die? And I told you!! I know these things cause Neji tells me! He doesn't want you to know, alright?!" Shikamaru shouted and pulled me to my feet, wrapping the jacket around me. "Come on, now."

"Wh-What?" I stuttered.

"Come on. Just come on." Shikamaru pulled me.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on!" I shouted. Shikamaru threw me over his shoulders. "H-Hey!" I screamed.

"I can't tell you exactly what's going on. But, believe me, Tenten. Stay quiet. You're not strong enough to walk yet." Shikamaru ordered. "We have to go somewhere safe."

"B-But…"

"Don't worry. Come on. We're going to meet up with Sasuke and Neji."

"N-Neji?"

"And Sasuke." Shikamaru said and started running.

"H-How? K-Kano said that they were captured."

"They're not anymore. They got out. Hiashi's after you though."

"How do you know…."

"I feel it." Shikamaru simply said. "I know it. I feel it."

"Sh-Shikmaru. Will I see Neji?" I asked, my hair covering my face.

"Yeah." Shikamaru said. "Promise me one thing."

"Okay…" I mumbled. He put me down and put his hands on my shoulder.

"We've been friends forever. Forever, Tenten… And we'll always be friends. So trust me on this… And, Tenten…"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Never try to die again…" Shikamaru mumbled. He bent down on his knees. I walked behind him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He stood and held me on his back. "Promise?" I bent my head low and rested it on his shoulder.

"I promise…" I whispered and wrapped my arms tighter around him. _I'm wearing his shorts too?"_

"Your clothes. They're really wet. But, you should be able to put on your tank top now…" He put me down again and I took off his shirt, and put mine on.

"I don't have to ride on your back…" I smoothed out my tight tank top and threw on Shikamaru's jacket.

"It's fine." Shikamaru said quietly and I climbed back on, wrapping my arms around his neck tightly.

"Don't let me fall.." I whispered.

"I won't." Shikamaru whispered back to me and we were off.

**--**

"Neji." Sasuke looked at him.

"Yeah…"

"You were having like a heart attack back there, spitting out blood and everything." Neji and Sasuke walked.

"I know. And I don't know why." Neji wiped his mouth. "I felt like I was feeling something from Tenten."

"Huh?" Sasuke asked.

"Feeling her pain." Neji simply stated.

"Hah. Damn. You should've saw how scary you looked when you looked at me. You had blood dripping onto the floor, and your face was a mess! Tears and everything dried. Looks like someone wrote the word ugly all over it."

"Shut up." Neji drew coldly.

"Kidding." Sasuke grinned. Neji rolled his eyes and picked up the pace. "I want to see her as soon as possible."

"What if she doesn't take you back?" Sasuke asked. Neji was silent.

"Then that's okay. I just want to see her again." Neji said quietly. "I love her so much, all I want her to be… is happy. And if she's happy with Kano, then…. That's okay. I'll be fine with it."

"Are you sure about that?" Sasuke asked. Neji nodded.

"Yeah." Neji smirked. "It's okay if she loves my cousin."

**--Much Later--**

"Shikamaru?" I asked.

"Hm."

"I want to…. Get down now." He nodded and put me down.

"What's wrong?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Nothing really." I took off his jacket. "Thanks for lending it to me." He stared at me. I was wearing his loose shorts which I had to fold the waist band two times to fit my waist, and a tight black tank top. "Stop staring. I know you're jealous." I laughed slightly. Shikamaru spat on the ground.

"No." I smiled gently.

"Shikamaru." I grinned and punched him gently in the shoulder.

"Tenten. Come on." He took my wrist and pulled me into the clearing. It was a flower field. Petals flew around us as the sun shined brightly upon the flowers. "Isn't it pretty?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah. It's beautiful…." My hair flew backwards with the wind. "I feel so… free." I smiled. He nodded.

**--**

"Where are we going?" Neji asked. Sasuke smirked.

"You'll see. You'll see." He mumbled. Neji was silent and suddenly they walked out into a flower field, the same? Maybe… "Isn't it pretty, Neji?" Sasuke asked.

"You're a freak…" Neji muttered.

"Really?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah. Sakura and Tenten could be dead right now, and you bring me to a flower field. What are you gay?!" Neji shouted at Sasuke. Sasuke laughed.

"Not gay, sorry Neji... Anyways, look over there." Sasuke pointed to a boy and a girl with long hair.

"So? What do i care about those two love birds?!" Neji growled at Sasuke.

"Love birds, huh? Well, let's see about that. Shikamaru!" Sasuke shouted the boy's name. He turned around and a grin plastered along his face. The girl slowly turned to face Neji and Sasuke. Neji's eyes widened.

"Ten…ten…"

**-**

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**Yes! Another update!**

**Review, review, review please!!**


	14. Chapter 14

"Tenten…" Neji muttered quietly.

"Hm?" Sasuke smirked at him.

"I can't… go to her." Neji slowly started to back away. Sasuke grabbed his arm.

"You can't go and confront your own girlfriend?" Sasuke smirked. Neji shook his head.

"I can't…" Neji muttered. "I bet… she's already fallen in love with Kano."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"Kano. He's my cousin. I sent him to fall in love Tenten, and her, in love with him." Sasuke punched Neji hard in the face as Neji fell into the flowers.

"You idiot. She hasn't fallen in love with him!" Sasuke shouted at Neji. "Why are you giving up so soon?!"

"I don't want her to suffer by my side anymore…" Neji muttered and rubbed his face where Sasuke's punch left a mark. Sasuke growled.

"You're stupid." Sasuke held Neji by his collar. "For a Hyuga, you're really stupid!" Sasuke shouted into Neji's face.

………

"Shikamaru?" I called his name. Shikamaru kept looking as Sasuke and Neji suddenly disappeared from sight.

_Wh-Where'd they go?_

"Shikamaru?" I pulled on his sleeve a bit.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Was… that Sasuke?" I asked. He paused. "And… Nej-"

"I don't know." Shikamaru responded and smiled hesitantly at me. "The person waved at me, so.. I just waved back, you know…" He grinned at me.

"I wanna sleep…" I mumbled and plopped down landing on some soft grass.

"Don't sleep yet…" Shikamaru muttered.

"Why not?" I laid back and shut my eyes.

"Rest. Don't sleep."

"Alright, alright…" I mumbled. _That was Neji. It had to be. It just… had to be Neji… and Sasuke. But… I'll trust Shikamaru's judgment. _

_What's going on…_

…**.**

"Neji! You're so stupid!" Sasuke yelled. Neji was silent. "You can't give up on her! You don't know if she doesn't love you still! Don't you love her?!" Neji looked away. "Answer!!"

"Yes." Neji muttered. Sasuke pulled Neji up and shoved him away.

"Shikamaru!" Sasuke shouted. Shikamaru stood immediately from sitting down.

"S-Sasuke." He muttered. Sasuke waved slightly.

"Tenten. Get up." Shikamaru kicked me lightly.

"Why…" I moaned. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Come on." I stood and rubbed my eyes. There stood Sasuke and Neji. Wait. Neji? I froze. "Go, Tenten." I nodded quickly and started walking. Sasuke slowly backed away. I looked back at Shikamaru, and he too, was backing away. I looked down then back up at Neji. He wasn't moving. He was too far for me to see, whether he was looking back at me. _Oh Neji. I love you. I love you._ From my walking, it turned into a run. I ran through the flowers as Neji kept as still as stone. "Neji!" I shouted his name. He looked up finally at me.

"Ten…ten…" He mumbled quietly.

"Oh, Neji…" I cried and jumped into his arms. I held myself close to him, as I buried my face in his neck, wrapping my legs around his waist. He slowly wrapped his arms around my waist, but he was hesitant. "I thought I'd never see you again…" I whispered against his neck. I inhaled deeply, making sure I was able to get all of Neji's scent. Neji was silent.

"Tenten. What about Kano?" He asked quietly.

"K-Kano?" I mumbled against his hair.

"Yes. He loves you, doesn't he?" Neji asked. I nodded.

"Yeah he does. But, only cause you told him to.." I whispered. Neji's fingers went cold. I could feel them turn to ice through my thin tank top.

"He… told you?" Neji asked.

"You don't want me to suffer. You don't want to see me because you don't want me to suffer."

"So you…"

"Neji, I love you." I whispered. "I love you…"

"…. Tenten. So you didn't fall in love with… Kano?" Neji asked.

"How could I fall in love with your cousin? After all you've done for me. You made Shikamaru care for me while you were gone, you told your cousin to go and comfort me so I wouldn't miss you, so that I would forget you… And, most of all, you came back." I tightened my arms around his neck. "No. I don't love Kano. I did for a little bit, until I found out that… he's only loved me because you told him to."

"Tenten." He said my name quietly.

"Tell me you love me back. Please…" I mumbled against his neck. "Please tell me you love me."

"Tenten, I-"

"Just… please, say it. Neji, say it. Please, Neji-kun." I ran my fingers through his hair. My legs slowly dropped from around his waist and slowly landed on the flowered ground. Neji bent forward so that his back was arched, so that I was still able to keep my arms around his neck.

"Ten-chan." Just him saying my name… just listening to his voice, and having him say my name sent shivers down my spine. I missed it so much. I pulled away slowly and wrapped my arms around his waist, and his arms around my waist. "Ten-chan, I-" He never finished, because I didn't let him finish… I stood on my tip-toes and kissed him gently on the lips. I place my hands on his face and pulled away.

"Yeah, Neji?" I smiled.

"I love you so much…" He muttered and claimed my lips quickly. He passionately kissed the life out of me. His lips were draining away the pain and sorrow, and the more he kissed me, the quicker my heart started to shake away the cob webs. It started to beat again. Beat faster and faster, and blood was pumping through my body again. Not the cold blood, but the blood that's been hidden all this time, waiting for Neji. He pulled away and held me close. "Tenten. I missed you so much. I thought about you every day." I smiled.

"I thought about you too. And… your wounds.." I said quietly.

"They're fine. God… Tenten. There wasn't one time when my mind wasn't thinking about you." I blushed.

"Neji… I… missed you a lot too. I missed you so much!" I finally let my tears go. They were unleashed from my eyes like waterfalls. "How come you keep leaving me? All the time!"

"I'm sorry." Neji apologized. "It's for your own safety. I knew… that as soon as I fell in love with you, that things were going to get complicated."

"Then why did you…" I mumbled.

"Cause I loved you so much. That's why I couldn't kill you. That's why I couldn't separate myself from you, until the past couple days. Tenten… that's why I needed to leave. I needed to protect you. I don't want you to get hurt." I bit my lip and continued to cry in his arms. "I'm sorry… you really shouldn't be going through all this pain."

"It's okay." I responded. Neji picked me up bridal style and laid me down. I looked up, and all I saw was his beautiful face, blue sky, white clouds, and flowers surrounding us. "Neji…" He sat down next to me. He was quiet. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him so that he was on top of me.

"T-Tenten. Wh-What are you…" I smiled at him.

"Kiss me." I mumbled.

"I can't. Not in this position. I might…" He was quiet.

"Kiss me, Hyuga." Neji was quiet. "Ne-" I felt his lips mashed against mine. _I love you. I… really love you, Neji. Not Kano. Just you. I love, just you…_

"Tenten…" He finally pulled away, breathing heavily. I panted as well, but smiled.

"Yeah?" I mumbled out.

"Are you sure, you don't love Kano?" Neji asked.

"Why are you asking me again?" I questioned Neji. He looked away.

"I… want a confirmation…" Neji responded.

"I don't love him." I responded. "I love you, silly." I leaned up and kissed his nose. I slowly slid away from underneath him. "Did… you fall in love with someone… else?"

"No. I was for sure that you'd fall in love with Kano. I mean, I asked him to."

"I don't get it." Tenten sat up as Neji kneeled in front of her.

"What don't you get?" Neji asked.

"Why would Kano do something like for you?"

"…Kano and I were really close. Helping each other out. But when Hiashi asked me to become a hired killer, I couldn't decline. Unlike him… I **had** to. It was the only way I could repay my uncle for taking care of me…" I nodded.

"**Neji. Kano. You two… Become my hired killers…" Hiashi ordered Neji and Kano who held sticks in their hands. "Enough practicing."**

"**Hiashi-sama. Why would I ever want to become something that kills because they were ordered to?" Kano asked. Neji was silent.**

"**Is that a no?" Hiashi asked Kano. Kano looked at Neji.**

"**We won't-"**

"**You won't, Kano." Neji responded.**

"**What are you saying?!" Kano almost shouted.**

"**I'll do it." Neji said quietly.**

"**Are you insane?!"**

"**No. But, I'll take the job…"**

"**What about Kano? I had things he needed to do as well…" Neji looked at Kano who still shook his head angrily at Neji's decision.**

"**I'll take his position too…" Neji responded. Hiashi nodded and walked away.**

"**Meet in my office 10 minutes from now…"**

"**Why are you doing this?!" Kano shouted. "What would your par-"**

"**I don't have any parents, Kano." Neji said coldly. "This is all I can do to repay him."**

"**Repay him?!"**

"**Uncle. He's been taking care of me. I need to return my debt."**

"**That's so stupid!" Kano shouted. Neji put his hand on Kano's shoulder.**

"**It's not. You don't need to return my favor. One way or another, Hiashi would have made you join. Be glad that I've taken your position as well as mine." Neji turned and walked away.**

"I'm.. sorry." I said quietly.

"Why?" Neji asked. "No. I'm sorry."

"I accept your apology.. Um, Neji… did you fall in love with anyone else?" Neji shook his head. "You sure?"

"Well, just now I did."

"What?" I asked. He put his hand on my face.

"Your eyes. When I look at them, it makes me feel like I'm falling in love with you over again." I smiled.

"Neji. What's going on with Hiashi?" I asked.

"…. He's suppose to be after you." Neji muttered coldly. "But, it seems I got to you first."

"W-Wait. Was that Sasuke with you?" I planned to stand up, but Neji pulled me down. "What?"

"Sasuke's with Shikamaru. They're finding Sakura. Sasuke will talk with Sakura. It'll be fine."

"Will he tell her about you?" I asked in concern. Neji paused.

"I don't know… But-" All of a sudden, foot steps were heard. The crunching sound of flowers.

"What's that-" I started. Neji clamped his hand over my mouth.

"Shut up." He ordered. I nodded.

"**Tenten. Neji. I know you're there. One of you come our. Or I'll be forced to shoot you both."**

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**I hope this chapter wasn't too short. Oh god, so much school.**

**I have the kung fu tournament this Saturday! Yay! xD. Bad thing is, I sprained my pinky when I was practicing. :( so hopefully it will heal. I must practice more!!**

**Please review :)**

**If you do review, then I shall read one of your stories, which ever one you want me to read, and I will review it!! :D**


	15. Chapter 15

"What?" I whispered quietly. Neji's ears perked and he shoved me down.

"Stay." He ordered.

"No. Neji, don't." I pulled at his arm. I slowly let go as he winced in pain. "Your wounds from before! Are they all better?" I asked him. He was silent.

"Yeah." I touched his scar.

"What happened…" I whispered.

"Nothing." He stood. "K-Kano?"

"Hey, Neji."

"…" Neji was silent.

_Kano?!_ I thought as my heart started to break. _Kano wants us dead?!_

"Kano." Neji said his name.

"I'm joking." Kano grinned. "I was looking for you guys. Don't worry. I'm not gonna shoot you." Neji raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Why are you here, Kano?" He asked.

"Just finding you and Tenten. Where is she?" Kano asked.

"Tenten." He called my name. I immediately shot up.

"Kano!" I grinned. He smirked at him.

"Hey there. I'm glad you found Neji." He smiled.

"Thanks!!" I hugged him gently and pulled away. "So, now that Neji's back, what do you plan on doing?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"I dunno." He responded. Neji looked down. "I did come all the way here to make you fall in love with me." He grinned. I smiled back at him. "I guess that didn't work…"

"I… oh Kano. I do love you! But, more as brother."

"I see. Well… I was hoping you'd say differently…" Kano muttered.

"I'm sorry…" I touched his shoulder. "I do really love Neji, Kano. And I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings.."

"Hurt my feelings? No." Kano looked away. "So there will never be a chance… for **us**?" I shook my head.

"I'm sorry. There's not a single chance…." I said quietly. He smirked.

"I believe there is…. One…" Kano reached into his pocket and started pulling out a-

"Get out of the way, Tenten!" Neji shouted and grabbed my arm, pulling me backwards. Neji kicked Kano in the stomach. He flew hard against the grass. I stood up and stared. What.. Just happened?

"Neji? Kano?!"

"Don't come closer, Tenten." Neji ordered me. I was silent.

"Wh-Why?"

"This is why." Kano muttered and threw the knife from his pocket. It zoomed as it cut Neji's cheek. He closed an eye and winced.

"Neji!" I shouted.

"STAY!" He ordered again. I froze. "Don't move."

"… 'Kay…" I mumbled. _What is going on?!_

"Kano. What the hell?"

"I'm TIRED of being SECOND to you!" Kano shouted. He stood and wiped the blood. "I'm SICK of it!!"

"What are you talking about?" Neji asked.

"You tell me this, and I do it! What do I get in return?! NOTHING! I'm tired of that, Neji Hyuga! I'm tired of always doing things for you and in return, I get NOTHING!"

"Kano. I'm sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen!!" Neji shouted.

"Didn't… mean for this to happen?" I asked.

"Yes. I didn't know I'd see Tenten again… Kano! I thought that I would never see you again." Neji said truthfully. I was silent.

"You… didn't want to see me?" I asked.

"I did. But I couldn't." Neji responded. "That's why… Kano went."

"Exactly! And what happened?! You said that I would love her immediately. And what I had to do, was heal her wounds in her heart, and have her fall in love with me!"

"But I can't control whether she does, Kano! I can't help if she still loves me!"

"It's YOUR fault!!" Kano pointed at Neji. "It's ALL your FAULT."

"I-" Neji growled.

"NO!" Kano shouted. "I fell in love with her! Just like you said! But…. I thought I fell in love with because you told me! But, I… actually fell in love with Tenten! You said she'd love me back… but she doesn't. She doesn't, Neji. Cause you love her, and she loves you…. You made me come here to be with her, and yet she goes back to you. You send me here…. To make sure she's safe… so that you can go on with whatever. But… But…" Kano was quiet. "I DID THAT FOR YOU!! YOU NEVER DO ANYTHING FOR ME!"

"Kano. I'm-"

"STOP ACTIING LIKE YOU'RE THE BOSS! I don't CARE if you're older than me!! I hate you! I hate you!" Kano shouted at Neji. He was silent.

_What's… going on? I thought Kano and Neji were… close…_

"I do all this for YOU!"

"I'm sorry!" Neji shouted. "What do you want me to do?"

"She will be mine! Give me back Tenten!!"

"She was NEVER yours to start with!" Neji shouted back. I bit my lip.

_Don't fight. Don't fight!_

"Neji. I have no more respect for someone like you." Kano answered.

"Why are you acting this way?" Neji asked.

"Cause… he changed me. I was blind the whole time. I never knew it. I'm always going to be your follower. I'm always going to lose to you in everything. But not this time. I'm not going to lose Tenten. I'm going to kill you."

"What are you RAMBLING about? What brought this on?!"

"I was blind. He opened my eyes."

"Who?!" Neji demanded angrily.

"Hiashi."

_**HIASHI?!**_** HE CHANGED KANO?!**

"Look at that stupid pathetic shocked face… Neji. You really have no idea. I was wrong to say no to Hiashi' offer. It was wrong for you to take my place as a hired killer. I should've said yes to begin with."

"No. You're wrong, Kano!"

"Don't tell me that I'M wrong!!"

"How did he change you.. In so little time…?" Neji asked.

"When Tenten left…. I was devastated. I didn't want her to leave. I didn't want to tell her the truth and lose her forever. But it happened…"

"_I'm such an idiot. I'm never going to win her heart now. After all that Neji gave up just to keep her safe? I can't compete against that…" Kano walked and sighed._

"_Kano."_

"_That voice- Hiashi?!" Kano turned around sharply and backed away._

"_Why are you alone? Where's Tenten?" Hiashi asked._

"_Wh-Why do you care?!"_

"_Cause I'm looking for her…" Hiashi said coldly._

"_What?"_

'_Why are you alone. I thought Tenten was with you."_

"_Sh-She's not. She just…. Left." Kano said quietly._

"_Ah. I bet you don't know where she is. Well let me tell you. She's with the Nara. They're going to find Neji." Hiashi smirked at Kano._

"_F-Find… Neji?"_

"_Yes. Yes." Hiashi walked over and placed a hand on Kano's shoulder. "You don't know yet do you? You don't understand…"_

"_What…" Kano asked._

"_She's loved him all this time. Kano… She's NEVER loved you. She never WILL love you. Cause she loves Neji too much. Slowly you fell in love with her, but she does not return those feelings."_

"_She doesn't…"_

"_You came here to fall in love with her under Neji's orders. You tell me… why are you doing what he's asking? What are you… a dog, Kano?" He was silent._

_**I'm not a dog. I'm not a dog! I'm not.**_

"_What are you… Neji's slave?"_

_**I'm not a slave. Not a slave. NOT NEJI'S SLAVE!**__ "I'm NOBODY'S slave!!" Kano shouted._

"_Exactly. So, why are you losing to him?"_

"_What…"_

"_You're losing to Neji…"_

"_I'm.."_

"_You're under his control. You're losing to him. You're losing your pride. You're… gonna lose the one you love if you don't do anything now."_

"_What can I do?" Kano asked._

"_Become my hired killer and bring back him and Tenten."_

"…"

"_Do you want to be his slave?"_

"_Never." Kano said angrily and stormed off._

"Kano, I-"

"Save it!" He shouted. "I knew it would come to this! Prepare yourself!!" Kano shouted again. Neji was silent.

"Don't fight!" I screamed. "Please!!"

"Save it, Tenten." Neji spat. "He's not going to turn away from this."

"Neji…"

"There's nothing more I can do. I have to kill him."

"No! There has to be another way!! There has to be, Neji! I can't.. No. You can't kill him! You promised me that you would never kill anyone!!" I screamed.

"I'm sorry, Tenten." Neji pulled out a pistol. Kano growled.

"DON'T!" I screamed. "PLEASE DON'T FIGH-" I felt someone appear behind me.

"Hello Tenten. It's been a while…" I heard a voice.

"Hias-" I was knocked out.

**-No POV-**

Tenten's body went limp as she fell forward onto Hiashi's shoulder.

"Finish him up, Kano. I'll be at the quarters." Neji turned around.

"HIASHI!" He shouted. "Give her back!" Neji turned around to face Hiashi now but a knife came zooming again as Neji dodged quickly.

"You're my opponent." Kano quickly ordered.

"KANO!" Neji shouted. "Hiashi's going to KILL her!!" Kano blinked and shook his head.

"No he's not. He's going to kill you."

"You.. KANO!" Neji shouted and pushed Kano into a tree, holding his neck. "You…"

"What? Kill me."

"I…." _Can't…_ Neji blinked and then flashback….

"_Don't kill me! Please!"_

_Tenten's… little brother… Dai._ Neji shook his head. _It's different! Kano's not innocent!_

"_Are you here to save daddy?" A little boy walked in. Neji turned around a knife in his hand, Tenten's father on the ground. "Wh-What?"_

"_Hiashi. He saw."_

"_Kill him." Neji walked over and held the boy by his neck._

"_No! Stop! D-Don't kill me! Please!"_

"_I can't…" Neji muttered._

"_Do it!" _**(1)**

"Neji!" Kano shouted. Neji bit his lip.

_I can't kill him! I can't kill him!_ Neji cursed and let go.

"Stupid." Kano murmured and aimed the knife and jabbed it into Neji's shoulder.

"Shit." Neji cursed as he grabbed Kano's leg, blocking his kick. "Get out of here!" Neji shouted and broke his leg instantly. Kano's leg cracked as he let out a howl.

"GAH!" Neji dropped Kano and ran.

_Tenten! Tenten!_ He ran quickly.

**-The Quarters-**

"Tenten!" Neji shouted. He jumped down the stairs and ran into the jail room. There she was. Her hands were tied together. There was a rope that led up to Hiashi. He held the rope tightly in his hands.

"Neji. Where's Kano?"

"He's not dead if you're asking!" There was a relieved look on Tenten's face. Neji ignored it though. "Give her back, Hiashi."

"Nope." Hiashi pulled out a gun and held it to Tenten's head.

"No! Don't!" She screamed and struggled.

"Shut up!" Hiashi ordered. Tenten did so immediately and whimpered. "I'm going to kill her."

"DON'T!"

"I won't if you do."

"What are you saying?!"

"Kill Tenten… or I'll do it myself."

"Y-You wouldn't!" Neji shouted at Hiashi. He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? You think I wouldn't?" Neji froze.

"D-Don't. Please." Neji fell to his knees. "Don't kill her. Please…"

"Then you kill her yourself." Neji was silent. He heard Hiashi cocked the gun. Neji's eyes widened.

"I won't let you kill her!" Neji shouted.

"Hm?"

"I… I'll do it. Just don't kill her…" Tenten's eyes widened.

"WHAT?!" Neji stood and pulled out a gun. "But.. Before I kill her, can I have a few moments?" Hiashi growled but nodded. He untied Tenten and shut the door behind him.

"Oh, Neji!" Tenten threw her arms around his neck. "I don't him to kill me. I don't want to die!" She screamed as she burst into tears. Neji put his hand on her head and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"If… you do die, then I'm going to follow you quickly. It won't be long. I won't let him kill you." Neji's grip tightened around her. "I love you too much. Tenten…"

"I know. I love you too, Neji!" She screamed and continued to cry. "Why is this happening to us?"

"…. I don't know…"

"Why is this happening to us…" She whispered. "Why won't anyone let us be together…" She whispered again. Neji kissed her hair.

"I don't know. I promise we'll make it through. And if… you die… I promise. Tenten. I **promise**, that I'll follow your footsteps." She shook her head.

"Live."

"I'd feel guilty. It would be like living in hell without you. Tenten, my life would be empty without you. You fill me, Tenten. Without you, I'd be lost."

"Neji…" She pulled away. She then started crying again. "I love you so much!!" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. Neji kissed back passionately when Tenten felt Neji's hand go into his pocket. She pulled away and stared at him.

"Neji?" Tenten called his name. He was silent. He bit his lip gently and blushed madly. "What's wrong?" She asked. Neji shook his head quickly.

"I have… to ask you something. You… might want to stand for this." She nodded and stood. Neji kneeled.

_Oh… my god. Oh my… god._ She blushed.

"Tenten…. Will… you marry me?" Neji asked, holding out a ring.

"…." Tenten was silent. Tears streamed from her eyes.

"Wh-What's wrong?" Neji stuttered.

"I…. haven't even finished high school. I… don't even know if I can live through this day! Why are you asking me now?" She almost shouted. Neji was taken back a bit.

"So… is that a no?" Tenten shook her head.

"I don't know!"

"Tenten. I'm not going to take no, or I don't know as an answer." He growled. "You'll say yes. Say yes."

"I…" She bit her lip and fell to her knees in front of him.

"Please. I love you, Tenten. I want to be with you forever. I need you in my life."

"I… don't think I can say yes. I don't want you to be living alone forever."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know I'm going to die. So why…"

"I'm going to do all I can, Tenten. I'm going to do all I can to make sure you live. So please." He begged. Tenten was silent. "I promise I'll never leave you again. I'll be by your side forever. Through everything… I promise I'll never leave you again." Tenten was quiet.

"I love you, Neji. But I'm not sure if I'm ready for the commitment."

"Tenten…" Neji whispered her name. "I promise we'll get through this… **together.**" Tenten nodded.

"I want to be with you forever." Neji's eyes widened. He looked at Tenten in front of him.

"What?" Neji asked.

"Yes. I'll marry you." Tenten smiled as Neji put the ring on her finger. She threw her arms around him. Next thing you know it, she was crying.

"Why are you crying, Tenten? I thought.. You were happy…" Neji said. He knew he was, his heart was thumping crazy at the fact that the girl of his dreams, was going to marry him.

"I don't want to die… Please…" She begged. Neji nodded.

"I won't let him." Neji pulled out a gun. "What are you doing… spying?!" He shouted suddenly. Tenten tried to pull away, but she couldn't…

"Wh-What's wrong?" She stuttered. Her eyes suddenly widened. "K-Kano…"

**-**

**-**

**-**

**-**

**WOAH! That was a long chapter! I'm surprised I had this much time to write this!!**

**(1)- Target: Tenten.**

**I REPEAT: IF YOU ARE READING THIS STORY AND HAS NOT READ TARGET:TENTEN, YOU SHOULD READ IT NOW! YOU WILL SOON UNDERSTAND WHY NEJI COULD NOT KILL KANO!**

**Target: Tenten is the fanfic that took place before this one. So if possible, please read that one before you read this. :D thank you very much.**

**And.. OH MY GOD, NEJI PROPOSED TO TENTEN! YAY!! xD waiting for this moment for so long…**


	16. Chapter 16

"K-Kano?!" Tenten screamed. Neji held her in his arms, his back facing Kano who had a gun in his hand.

"Sorry to ruin this moment but,-" Before Kano could shoot, Neji grabbed the gun and point it up so that it shot a hole in the ceiling.

"Stop this Kano." Neji ordered and stood, keeping his arm around Tenten's waist.

"Neji?" Tenten stuttered his name. She felt his heart pounding loudly in his chest, every beat getting faster. Like a bomb about to blow, Neji let out a snarl.

"Leave her alone…" Neji said quietly.

"She's going to be mine." Kano glared at Neji.

"She's mine, Kano!" Neji shouted. Neji held out Tenten's hand with the ring. "You're too late! She's said yes!" Kano's eyes widened and the expression on his face… it was wild.

"WHY?!" Kano screamed and held his head. "WHY'D YOU SAY YES?!"

"I-I'm-" Tenten started. She turned her face away from Kano and buried it in Neji's chest. She clutched tightly to his shirt, refusing to let go.

"Tenten, I-"

"No. Neji. Don't leave me. Don't fight him. Please, Neji.." She begged him and cried softly in his chest. Neji patted her head.

"I'm not leaving you. I'll never leave you, Tenten.."

"SHUT UP. SHUT UP!" Kano screamed from the other side of the room. Kano gripped his own face and pointed his finger at the couple. His finger shook angrily as emotions poured out of his mouth. "Y-YOU! I.. TENTEN!! I love you! Why'd you do this?! Why'd you do this?! I HATE you NEJI! I HATE YOU NEJI HYUGA!"

"Kano.. Stop.." Tenten whispered.

"Don't you tell me what to do!" Kano pointed at her. Tenten bit her lip and looked away.

"She said STOP, Kano!" Neji shouted. He held onto her tighter. Tenten tried to pull away.

"Don't fight, please! Don't fight!!" Tenten screamed. Kano tightened his grip around his gun.

"I'm.. going to shoot."

"No don't, Kano! Please…" Tenten begged.

"Tenten. Stay out of this." Neji ordered. He put her down softly.

"No. No don't. I can't. Don't fight…." She cried helplessly. Neji took the ropes and gently tied it to her wrist. "Wh-what are you doing?" Neji took the long rope and tied it around his wrist.

"We'll… be connected. I have to fight him. Pull on it… if I've done too much damage." Tenten took her shaking hand and nodded.

"You? Give me damage?" Kano laughed.

"How can you still walk…" Neji asked quietly. "I broke your leg." Kano raised his pants up. He had a wooden plank tied to his leg. Neji slowly smirked. "Would you like me to break the other one?"

"I'd like to see you try."

"You idiot. That was rhetorical question." Neji pulled out a gun.

"Neji!" Tenten screamed. Neji turned around quickly to see that there was a hole where she was sitting.

"Tenten!" Neji shouted as he felt himself being pulled to the hole.

"Help me!" She screamed.

"I won't let you fall!" Neji's arm grinded against the rough surfaces of the hole. Kano kneeled next to Neji who was trying to pull Tenten out. He slowly flipped out a knife.

"Hey.. Neji.. If you don't mind… how about I…" Kano brought the knife across Neji's cheek. Blood dripped down into the hole. "cut the rope?" Neji growled.

"Don't! She's going to die!" Neji shouted at Kano. Kano let out a laugh. Neji's eyes widened.

"Good! Then you won't have her!"

"Nor will you!!" Neji shouted back as he heard Tenten scream.

"The rope! Neji, it's loosening!"

**-Tenten's POV-**

"Neji!" I screamed his name as I felt a droplet land on my face. "NEJI!" I screamed his name again. He didn't respond. With one free hand I touched the liquid and smelled it. _Bl-Blood. _I looked up. "NEJI! Are you okay?!"

"Hn." I heard Neji respond. A groan. I struggled and tried to pull myself up the rope attached to Neji's wrist.

"One more cut…" I heard Kano's voice. I felt myself drop a little lower. I screamed.

"Stop it, Kano!" Neji shouted and kicked Kano in the leg. I heard him let out a howl as I felt myself being lifted up. I bit my lip as I was suddenly heaved into someone's arms.

"Neji!" I cried and held onto him tightly. He embraced me back and I saw. He had a cut along his cheek and his wrist… it was bloody all around the rope. And his arm.. It had scrapes all over It. And Me? Nothing. No injuries what so ever. "Neji. I'm so sorry. I was so… helpless. I couldn't do anything. I'm so sorry, Neji. Your arm, I-"

"It's fine. Stop apologizing." Neji quickly untied the ropes around my wrist and his. He walked over to the curled up Hyuga and tied him quickly to a pole. "Wake up, you idiot!" Neji shouted and punched Kano in the face.

"NEJI!" I screamed.

"He tried to kill you!' Neji shouted at me. "Why are you still siding with him?!"

"He… tried-"

"Yes!" Neji interrupted me. "He was planning to cut the rope to let you fall. If he couldn't have you, then I couldn't either…" He said quietly. I stood slowly and walked over to Neji and Kano.

"Neji…"Kano said his name quietly. "I was a fool…"

"… What?" Neji asked. Kano dropped his gun. I took Neji's hand.

"I was a fool to think I could take you on." Kano said quietly. "I should've known all along that Tenten would always be with you. Cause of what you did. You sacrificed so much for her. I should've known she'd choose you over me anytime." I was beginning to feel bad for Kano.

"Kano." Neji said quietly. "I-"

"Forgive me. For hurting you. For hurting Tenten. For hurting your friends…" Kano bowed his head down in shame. "And forgive me for joining Hiashi."

"I do forgive you." I was shocked with Neji's words. "My cousin… I'm here for you whenever you need me." Neji said quietly. "We'll always be family."

"Yes." Kano said quietly. Neji untied the ropes and Kano stood in front of us, head still looking towards the ground. He mumbled quietly… "Neji."

"Hm."

"One last thing. I want to say… before I leave."

"Yeah?" Neji waited. I waited. We both waited to hear what Kano wanted to say. But, we heard nothing. I was getting nervous.. Why? Cause there was a sudden grin forming. I could see it. Kano was grinning now.

"Neji…"I whispered his name quietly and grabbed his arm. "We.. Have to get out of here…"

"Why?" Neji asked.

"Hiashi…" I said his name quietly.

"He sent in Kano. Not himself." Neji whispered back. "Now shush."

"…" I blinked and still looked at Kano. He had both hands in his pockets and was fidgeting un humanely. My eyes widened as I shook Neji again. "Please. Let's get out of here."

"Let Kano speak." Neji ordered. "Kano." He said his name firmly. Kano nodded and slowly looked up.

"Neji… Have fun in hell." Neji's eyes widened as Kano pulled out a gun and a long knife.

"I TOLD YOU!" I screamed as I pulled at his arm. Neji didn't move. "Neji! Come on! Move!" I screamed. Neji stood still and shook his head looking down.

"I'm a monster."

"You're not! You're-"

"Yes you are." Kano laughed.

"Neji! I fell for it too!" _No I didn't. But-_ "Please, Neji! Move! He's going to kill you."

"Then so be it."

"What are you talking about?!" I screamed. I was panicking. Neji **wanted** to die?!

"I'm a monster, Tenten. I turned Kano into what he is now. If I didn't ask him to protect you… then.. He would've still been home. He wouldn't be….. A killer. It's my fault. I'm guilty. I have to pay the price."

"No.. no no. Don't say that. No.. please, Neji. Please…" I begged him. "You'd say we 'd be together forever. You said that we'd never part. You'd protect me. You said you'd never leave my side again." I pulled at his arm.

"I'm never going to leave your side. I'll always be with you." He whispered.

"No, please don't do this. Please, Neji!"

"I'll keep her in good hands." Kano smirked at Neji. Neji didn't look up.

"It's my fault he is what he is. I have to take full responsibility for this." Neji pulled out a knife.

"You.."

"I have to end this…"

"No, Please!' I begged. Neji slipped his arm out from me. "No, Neji! Don't do this!!"

'I'm sorry." Neji pushed me aside as I fell. Neji then started to run. Kano dropped his gun and they ran at each other. I tried to scream. But I couldn't. Nothing came out of my mouth. Tears streaming down my eyes. I heard blood squirt out. I stared at the two. They just ran their knives through each other's chest. Together, they pulled out the knives and swaggered.

"Oh god. No.." I whispered and tried to stand. They both fell suddenly and collapsed. "No… no no no. no!" I screamed as I pushed off and ran. "Neji!" I screamed his name and fell to my knees and picked him up. He coughed out blood and opened his eyes. "Oh Neji!!" I cried. He touched my cheek.

"Tenten.." He mumbled quietly. "He didn't give me a fatal blow."

"…"

"I ran my sword through his heart. Kano… he missed. He turned his blade right before it hit my heart." I was silent as my eyes opened.

"He… sp-"

"He spared me. He didn't kill me. I've done something horrible." Neji slowly sat up with my support and looked at motionless Kano. "Kano…."

"…"

_Flashback…_

"_NEJI!" Kano came running._

"_Hey!" Neji turned around and grinned at him._

"_Guess what?" Kano asked. Neji shrugged._

"_I dunno."_

"_Well, GUESS!" Kano hit Neji in the shoulder._

"_I don't know, Kano." Neji said quietly._

"_I figured out want I want to be when I grow up!!"_

"_That's cool." Neji responded and continued to punch a punching bag. Kano took his hand._

"_Aren't you going to ask me what I want to be?" Kano asked. Neji shook his head._

"_If you want to tell me then go ahead. I'm not gonna ask." Neji responded. Kano sat down._

"_Just ask me." Neji wiped his forehead and sat down next to Kano._

"_What do you want to be?" Neji asked._

"_Someone who can always be there for others. To help them out."_

"_Like a dad?" Neji asked curiously. Kano shook his head._

"_Sort of. But not really. More like… a hero." Kano grinned at Neji. "I want to be a someone where people when they're in trouble, will go to me."_

"_You're only 6. Nice try, Kano." Neji responded._

"_I'm serious! When I grow up, I want to be a hero! I don't want to rely on you anymore, Neji." Kano smiled at Neji who patted his head._

"_Alright. You can protect me when you're older."_

"_Yeah!" Kano grinned. Neji grinned back._

"_Kiddo, you're gonna protect me with that goofy grin of yours?" Neji asked. Kano shook his head._

"_When I grow up, you can grin. I'll have a strong face. I may be younger than you, but, Neji… I'm going to protect you, and protect myself, protect everyone around me. So I can pay you back for always watching me." Neji nodded and put his hand on Kano's shoulder._

"_You can do it."_

"_I will protect you, Neji." Kano grinned._

_Flashback over-_

I felt something wet on my hand. I looked at Neji. He head tears streaming down his eyes.

"Neji.." He coughed out blood and they mixed with his tears.

"He said he'd protect me. And he did." Neji shut his eyes tightly. "I couldn't… protect him in the end." Neji let out more tears as I helped him stand. Neji grabbed his chest and fell back down. "I killed him, didn't I? Kano. He didn't come at me with the intent to kill me… I knew it. Kano…. He… turned the blade. He turned the god damn blade so that I wouldn't die with him!" Neji shouted angrily.

"Don't, Neji…" I held him. "You're gonna bleed to death."

"I deserve to die. I killed Kano. I killed my cousin!" Neji shouted at me.

"I… I'm sorry.." He took my hand. And touched my finger gently. "I know… I'm not as important as Kano… to you, Neji… I'm not as important as him… but-"

"You're wrong." Neji looked away. "You're… much more important to me… than Kano."

"… W-Well…" I blushed. "I'm… I know that it was Kano who said who'd protect you… but… I'll be here too. I'll be here for you, Neji. You said you'd protect me. Well,I… want to protect you too, Neji. I want to…"

"**Protect you, and protect myself. I want to… protect everyone around me. So I can pay everyone back… for taking care of me…"**

Neji's eyes widened at what I said. I stared at him.

"I love you." He whispered. I smiled.

"You're going to live. Don't worry." I responded and pulled Neji up. He slowly swayed towards Kano.

"Kano…" Neji whispered. He kneeled in front of him and patted Kano's shoulder. "…"

"_You can do it."_

"_I will protect you, Neji." Kano grinned._

"Neji…" His eyes flared open as I ran over.

"K-Kano!" Neji said his name.

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

"What?" Neji asked.

'I was fighting even though I knew I wasn't going to win in the end... I was fighting you for Tenten. And her love for you.. Your love for her drives each other to be strong."

"Kano."

"I should have never interfered." Kano smiled. "Maybe I wouldn't be dying if I had listened to you, huh?"

"Don't say that." Neji ordered.

"Remember? When I said I'll protect you?" Kano asked. "I broke the promise. I said I'd always protect you. And there I was, trying to kill you. I'm sorry about that." Kano coughed as blood came out.

"Kano!" His eyes slowly shut.

"Kano!" I screamed his name too. I took his hand. "I'm... sorry!" He shook his head.

"About what, Tenten…"

"Not being able to love you back. I'm so sorry!" I cried. It was my fault that he was dying. Cause I had almost fallen in love with Kano and then Neji came back. Boom. I went back with Neji. It was my fault he joined Hiashi. Not Neji's. All MINE.

"It's alright." Kano said quietly. He turned to look at Neji. "I guess.. I couldn't be that hero…"

"You were." Neji responded and shut his eyes. "I was…. The one who killed you. I promised I'd never kill anyone again." Kano grinned.

"It's.. okay."

"I…"

"I let you down. I couldn't be…. That someone to protect you…." _I'm sorry. I couldn't be what you wanted me to be._

_-Flashback-_

"_I will protect you, Neji." Kano grinned. He held out his pinky._

"_Seriously?" Neji asked raising an eyebrow. Kano nodded. "Alright then." Neji brought out his pinky._

"_I promise… I'll protect you, Neji." Neji nodded and grinned back._

_-Flashback over-_

Kano held out his hand. It was shaking. His pinky slowly raised up.

"I…. promise I'll.. Protect you." Kano said quietly. Neji bit his lip and brought out his hand.

"And… I'll promise I'll never forget you. And what you did." Neji had tears coming down his eyes.

"Don't cry…" And with that, Kano's hand loosened around mine, and his hand dropped from Neji's. It slowly fell and dropped onto the floor. Kano Hyuga… was dead.

"D-Dammit…" Neji cursed and grabbed his head. "Kano… Kano!" He screamed loudly.

"Neji…"

"Kano… you don't need to promise me anymore. You're done. The promise is over. I promise you now… that we'll always… be family. No matter what." Neji blinked away a tear. "You protected me. You didn't kill me. Kano…" I felt tears trembling down my face.

"Neji. We have to go…" I whispered. He shook his head.

"I'm not… leaving…" Neji said quietly.

"You're going to die, if you don't."

"Then let me die." Neji said quietly.

"I don't want you to die!" I screamed at him.

"I'll be with Kano. He said…. Have fun in hell. Let me have my fun, Tenten…" Neji whispered.

"I don't understand…" I said quietly. "We have to go. Hiashi. He'll come back."

"Then let him come back."

"Neji, NO!" I screamed. "We have to Go NOW!"

"Then GO!" Neji shouted at me. I stood and glared at him.

"I don't' want you to die! Neji… do you understand?!" I screamed. He growled.

"I can't leave Kano's body here."

"He's DEAD, Neji!" I screamed. "We have to GO! We'll be dead too if we don't!"

"…" Neji was silent.

"Do you WANT to die? Is that what Kano wanted? For you to die with him?! I don't think so!!" I screamed. "He wanted you to live! That's why he didn't kill you! He wants to protect you! You're giving your life away just like that! Feel guilty, go ahead!! But, don't you dare go and die! Let's GO."

"…."

"Are you going to answer me?"

"…."

**-No POV-**

"F-Fine…" I bit my lip and let out a tear. "I don't… want this anymore." Tenten pulled the ring off her finger and threw it at Neji. It landed in his hands. "KEEP THE STUPID RING! I DON'T WANT TO MARRY SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO THROW THEIR LIFE AWAY!!" She screamed and opened the door to the jail and ran out. She was running in the halls, no idea where she was going.

"My, my… Tenten-san. What do we have here?" Tenten turned around sharply. Hiashi held a gun to her head. "You shouldn't be running around without my **nephew**. Who's going to protect you now?"

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**OOHH. CLIFF HANGER! Is it suspenseful? :D**

**I'll update soon.**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I was listening to some very sad Naruto sound tracks when I was writing this.**

**-Hokage's funeral**

**-Sadness and Sorrow**

**-Gaara's Childhood**

**-Neji vs. Hinata theme**

**LONGEST CHAPTER YET!!**


	17. Chapter 17

"Hiashi."

"Hm? Are you afraid to die?" He asked. She shook her head.

**-Tenten's POV-**

"No. I'm not." He glared at me.

"You're… not…" He said quietly. "And where's the ring Neji-san gave you?" He looked at my hand.

"I gave it back. I don't want to marry him." I retorted.

"Oh really?" Hiashi asked.

"Who'd want to marry him anyways? He wants to die. So let him die."

"NO!" I heard Hiashi shout. "Neji will not die!"

"He wants to die. Kano's dead. He wants to die with Kano." I responded. Hiashi smirked.

"So Kano's dead?" Hiashi asked.

"Yes." I mumbled.

"I knew he'd die." Hiashi mumbled. I growled.

"WHY?!" I shouted. "Why did you let Kano die?!"

"He was useless to begin with. He never had the same motivation and potential Neji had, and he never will. Neji was born to be a hired killer. But then you took him away. I should blow your head off right now. But I'm saving it for Neji to do."

"How do you know Neji will kill me?" I asked calmly,

"You threw his own mother's ring at him. You left him. You didn't understand him. Need me to go on?" Hiashi asked. I was stunned.

"His mother's ring?" I asked.

"You don't know do you, how much Neji's mom meant to him. Of course you don't. Cause you still have a mother." My eyes widened. "She died when he was very young. Slaughtered right before him."

"Slaughtered right before him, BY YOU!" I screamed. "You killed Neji's mom!" I growled. He still held the gun in front of my head.

"Uh uh uh. No screaming, Tenten-san…" I bit my lip.

"His mother gave him the ring to give to his loved one. She told him… I remember…

"_Neji… here."_

"_What is it, mom?" Neji looked up at her._

"_It's a ring daddy gave me. I'm giving it to you because I love you. When you find that someone special, the someone that makes your heart warm, the someone that lightens your day, give this ring to her…"_

"_Why? Why do I need someone special if I have you?" Neji asked._

"_Silly. I'm not always going to be here…. And besides, Neji. You have to find your own special someone, okay? When you do, please give this to her. As a blessing from me, promise?"_

"_Alright.."_

Tears rolled down my face.

"I… I…." _I didn't know. I hope I didn't break it._ I clenched my fists. "Leave Neji alone!"

"You dare shout at me?!" He growled.

"Kill me then! I'm sure Neji wouldn't care!" I screamed.

"…" Hiashi smirked. "Fine. Good bye, Tenten…" I shut my eyes.

"TENTEN!" I heard someone shout. I opened my eyes to find someone wrapping their arms around my waist and the other hand holding a knife. "I'm sorry."

"Neji…" I whispered his name. "I… didn't mean to throw your mother's ring at you.." I cried. "I love you. I'm sorry for throwing-"

"It's fine. I'm sorry. I'm stupid, for thinking that Kano's life meant more than yours. Tenten, your life means more than anything to me. I completely lost it back there." I turned and looked. Hiashi wasn't there.

"Where'd.. Hiashi go?"

"I stabbed him and ran." He responded. "Tenten." He grabbed my by my shoulders tightly. "Tenten. I want to tell you something."

"…."

"I didn't mean to ignore you. I was thinking. And I was ignorant to think your life was worthless. I didn't know, that if I died, that it would impact you so much."

"It would." I cried. "I thought I was going to die."

"I would never let you die, Tenten. I broke so many promises I made with you. I promised I'd never kill anyone, but I killed Kano. I promised I'd never leave you, but I did. I promised… that I'd protect you forever. But I didn't. I almost had you killed. I've broken all my promises except for one. I'm sorry." I smiled.

"It's okay. I… I'm sorry too. Neji. I do want to marry you. I've been dreaming of you to ask me that…" I smiled. "But on one condition."

"Anything, Tenten…" Neji whispered against my lips.

"Never… ever, leave me again. And promise me one more thing."

"Yes…" He whispered.

"Promise me, that you'll love me forever."

"I promise." He whispered and moved his hands and gripped my head gently. "I love you so much, Tenten."

"I-" Never finished. He plunged his lips onto mine. I kissed him back when He pulled me to my feet and swung me behind him.

"I promise you, that I'll always protect you, no matter what. I'll protect you from Hiashi." He growled. I nodded. Hiashi bust down the door holding a bloody knife. That's what happened. Neji had stabbed a knife through Hiashi's pants.

"N-Neji…" I mumbled.

"It won't happen again." He muttered and kissed me on the forehead and pulled out a gun. "Tenten. I might have to break the promise."

"Th-There has to be another way…" Neji shook his head.

"I don't think so. It's a fight to the death." Neji responded.

"B-But…" He shook his head again. I saw something in his pocket sticking out and reached in and pulled out the ring. He stared at me.

"T-Tenten. It's-"

"I want to marry you. I accept." I responded quickly and slipped it onto my finger. "I want to wear it. If I have this, you'll always be by my side." I reached up and kissed him.

"Are you two done?" Hiashi growled. We turned and looked at him. He had a lighter in his hand. "One of us gets out. Only one of us." Neji nodded. "One out of three." Neji nodded. He slowly picked me up.

"Wh-What are you doing?"

"You're… the one who has to get out of here." Hiashi growled.

"No she doesn't!" He shouted and threw a match at the window. It burst up in flames as I screamed.

"I'll get you out of here." I cried.

"No, please. There has to be another way. Please, Neji!" I begged. He shook his head. "Please, don't do this. Don't do this, Neji!"

"Get out of here, Tenten." He put me down. "I have to finish this."

"Please! I don't want to live! Not if I have to live without you, Neji!"

"I'm not giving you a choice!" Neij shouted and quickly pushed me through a door and shut it immediately. "RUN!" I heard him shout from the inside. The roof was collapsing.

"No. No no!" I screamed. "No no!" I cried. "I don't want to! Neji!" I screamed.

"We end this!" Neji turned to Hiashi. He was finding a way to escape. Neji shot Hiashi in the leg. "Where do you think you're going?!" Neji shouted. Hiashi laid motionless on the ground. _He's not dead._ He twitched but, Neji didn't wait. The building was going down. Neji wasn't about to go down with it. He quickly ran to the jail room and still found Kano lying there, body cold. Neji gulped and picked up Kano's body and walked towards the hole, which Tenten almost fell in. He slowly dropped Kano's body and down, down, down…

"I'm sorry." Neji muttered. "Kano." Neji quickly took out the match box he found from Hiashi and lit the hole on fire. Neji quickly ran from the basement and up the stairs. Hiashi was gone. "Sh-Shit!" Neji cursed and looked around. He looked around but not behind him. Immediately Neji grabbed his arm as a bullet just grazed him. "Fu-"

"I'm not gonna die." Neji took the gun in both of his hands. "You can't kill me. You promised your girl. You'll be breaking a promise."

"Not **a** promise. Two." Neji gripped the gun tightly. "One. I'll be dying in here. I'll be breaking the promise in which I'll be with her forever…. And two. I'll be killing someone." Neji shot the gun right at Hiashi's heart.

"YOU-" And Hiashi fell. Neji fell to his knees as well and panted as the fire surrounded him.

_I'm sorry, Tenten. I… really do love you, Tenten. It's just that… I can't forgive myself for breaking so many promises with you. Killing, Leaving, Killing…_

"NEJI!" I screamed. A fire truck arrived and started putting out the fire. "NO! GO SAVE NEJI! He's IN THERE!"

"Miss, the building is on fire. No one could live through that."

"NO NO NO!" I screamed. One of the fire fighters held me back. "He's in there! My Neji's in there!" I screamed. "Save him! Please! Please!" I cried, my hair getting in my face. "SAVE HIM!' I screamed loudly.

"There's nothing we can do. Please. Get into the ambulance car. You have some burns and cuts."

"NO!" I shouted at the firefighter. "My Neji's in there! He's in there!" I screamed.

"I'm sorry. There are no survivors."

"That can't be! That can't be! That can't be!" I cried. The firefighter dragged me to the ambulance car. "No, no no! Please, no!" They strapped me down. I continued to kick. They slowly shut the door. "NO! PLEASE, LET ME OUT!" I screamed. _Neji. Why?! Neji.. No… no no! NO! You can't die!_ "YOU PROMISED! NEJI!! YOU PROMISED YOU LIVE! YOU PROMISED…" I cried loudly as the ambulance started to drive away. "PLEASE! DON'T! I need to be there! He's gonna live! PLEASE!" I wailed loudly and kicked forcefully. Somehow, I don't know… but, I was able to break loose of the straps. I immediately opened the truck doors and jumped out.

"H-Hey!" One of the doctors stopped the car. I landed on the branches and started running.

"Neji… I'm coming!" I cried and ran. "You can't be dead! You can't be!" I cried and ran. The doctors were right behind me. The firefighter turned around and his eyes widened.

"Young lady! You were suppose to go to the hospital!"

"I can't!!" I screamed. "My… MY fiancé is in there! Please!" They were still putting out the fire. But, I knew the whole building had collapsed. Deep inside… I knew that… Neji was gone.

"Get away from there!" The man turned off the hose. Burnt wood, burnt glass, burnt… everything. I pulled out the wood pieces. "Get her out of here."

"No, please!" I begged as they caught hold of my arm. "You don't understand! I need to find someone!!" I screamed and pulled out of their grasp. I reached out. "Neji!!"

"I'm really sorry about this… but-" My eyes widened.

_Neji…_

**-2 Days past-**

"Tenten?"

"Wait. She's coming through."

"Oh Tenten, honey…"

"Tenten-chan…"

"…." I opened my eyes. Hospital room. I looked next to me. "Mom. Sa..kura… Shikamaru… S-Sasuke… T-Temari?" I looked at them. Sakura had swollen eyes.

"Thank goodness you're alright!" She cried and covered her face, walking away from the bed. Sasuke walked after her and they left the room. I could hear Sakura crying outside.

"Tenten-chan.." I ignored my mother.

"Tenten?" Temari touched my forehead gently.

"… Ten…ten?" Shikamaru whispered my name. "C-Can I have some time?" Temari nodded. My mom walked out with Temari and next thing you know, I hear my mom wailing outside. "You can speak. Tell me what happened right now." He demanded. He kneeled next to me.

"Neji…" I whispered his name. Shikamaru was silent. "Hiashi. He sent Kano after me and Neji. I was captured and Neji was lured. I nearly died, Neji saved me. Kano was killed by Neji. I ran off and Hiashi and Neji were dueling. The house was set on fire. Neji fought Hiashi and…" I was silent. Tears came out of my eyes. "I… I couldn't save him." I sat up and cried. Shikamaru hugged me. "Shikamaru. Please tell me he isn't dead. Please…" I begged. Shikamaru was silent.

"I don't know." Shikamaru responded truthfully.

"_Just recently, the mansion, the Hyuga Mansion, home of Hyuga Hiashi has been burnt to the ground. Hyuga Hiashi is the most wanted man on the list of all of Konoha. He has finally died just 2 days ago. The house went up in flames. His body was found, and it looks like he was stabbed in the leg and shot in the other leg and chest."_

"Neji…" I whispered. Shikamaru pulled away and nodded. The news woman kept talking.

"_There is al__so another body here. Supposingly had long hair. He was shot in the chest. We can not tell who it is though. The body is too messed up. He was found near Hiashi. There are only two bodies found. Apparently there is a third body, although, that third body can not be traced. Stay tune for…"_

"Shot in the chest? N-Near… Hiashi?" I stuttered out. _Neji…_ I burst out in tears. "No! This can't be happening! Why… Why, Neji?! You said we'd be together… you said… you'd never leave me…" Shikamaru stood and walked out. I laid down in bed and cried. _Neji. Why… are you doing this to me? I never should have fallen in love with you. You're causing me so much pain. Neji…. Neji…_ I got off the bed and I was in blue pjs. It was dark outside. But, I needed to get out. I needed… to find him. I knew my mom and everyone was outside. I climbed down through the window, using my sheets as a rope.

I walked the empty streets trying to find my way to the mansion, the wrecked mansion. I still saw smoke in the air. After an hour of walking I leaned against the tree and panted. I wasn't up for these kind of things. I continued to walk until I made it to the mansion. In front of it, two bodies. I ran immediately and fell to my knees. _One of was Hiashi. I could tell. The inflict in the pants, and the gun shot. The second body… was… Neji… I knew it was. The gun shot. Neji must have been shot in the chest… That's why… he didn't come out._

I held my hand tightly against my chest, the hand with the ring he gave me. "I… I'm sorry. If I… didn't run away. If I just had stayed with you…. You wouldn't have to be dead right now. I wouldn't in so much pain. We would be happy. Oh Neji…." I grabbed my chest and cried loudly.

I was in the forest. No one could hear me cry but myself. The wind wisped quietly as the moon shown brightly in the sky. I looked up and watched the dark clouds slowly travel by. I stood and reached for the sky. I want to be ith you. Be… where you are… Tears gathered and leaked… _I miss you already._ With that, I collapsed.

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**I was crying as i wrote this... :(**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's note:**

**THE CHAPTER EVERYONE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR! IS NEJI ALIVE? OR DID HE DIE... READ AND FIND OUT! And THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING MY FANFIC! :)**

**On with the story!**

"_Tenten? Are you awake?"_

"_What…" I slowly opened my eyes and there. Stood my love. My Neji. My Neji Hyuga. I smiled up at him. "Neji, you're alive! Oh my god…" I wrapped my arms around him._

"_Tenten…" He whispered._

"_How'd you live?" I cried in his arms._

"_Tenten. What are you doing?"_

"_I'm hugging you… please… never let me go…"_

"_Tenten. You… have to let go."_

"_Why…"_

"_Tenten… wake up. Wake up, Tenten." _I opened my eyes and it was….

"S-Sasuke?" I was wrapping my arms around his neck, as he draped a blanket over me. "Where's Neji?" I looked around. He looked away.

"He's not here." He responded.

"What are you talking about. He was just here.."

"You… were dreaming, Tenten."

"Why'd you wake me?!" I wanted to hit him but, instead, I buried my face in his shirt. "Sasuke… why didn't you let me go where Neji is?"

"I can't let you do that…" Sasuke whispered. "I'm sorry, Tenten." Sasuke picked me up. "I searched everywhere. All around here. I couldn't find anybody. All I see are the two bodies. Are you sure… that's Neji's?" I refused to look at him and nodded.

"It's his… I know it…" I responded and cried.

"Tenten… It could be Kano's…" I was silent and nodded. "It can't be Neji's. Neji… he can't die."

"…" I was silent and then I felt a tear on my hand. I looked up and Sasuke put me down and turned around immediately to shield his face. "S-Sasuke?" I kept the blanket around me.

"He.. Neji can't die. Neji Hyuga did not die… He can't. He couldn't have." Sasuke sputtered out. He turned to me and yes. The Uchiha Sasuke, was crying. Impossible as it was, he had streaked coming down his face.

"S-Sasuke."

"I'm not crying." He muttered. "Something… in my eye…" He mumbled and wiped his eyes. "I'm taking you back to Konoha. You have to go to school." I shook my head.

"I don't think I can…" I mumbled and more tears flew out. "I just can't!"

"Everyone's worried about you. They're looking all over Konoha for you."

"I'm alive. They should be looking for Neji's body!" I cried. Sasuke shook his head.

"There's nothing more we can do."

"He's not dead. You said so your self!" I screamed and buried my face in Sasuke's chest again. "I've lost everyone I care for. My father… my brother.. And Neji.."

"We're here for you." Sasuke sat down and held me in his arms. "Sakura might get mad if she sees us like this." I nodded and tried to pull away. "But, you're just as important to me as she is…" He muttered.

"Th-Thank you…" I cried. "I'm still… feeling alone. All alone." I whispered. "Without Neji, it's like… my life is empty. Even though I have you guys…. I'm still all alone." I whispered to him ."All alone…."

"I'm sorry…" He whispered back to me. He leaned me against the tree. "Tenten. Do you want to come back to Konoha with me?" He asked. I shook my head.

"I don't. Please. I just… want to stay here." Sasuke took my hand, my hand with Neji's ring.

"Tenten…"

"I know he's gone…" I whispered, no tears. Surprise. "I like it. And.. Neji.. He entrusted me with it." I whispered to him and I smiled gently. "I'll come back…. Once I know who I am again."

"You're Tenten." Sasuke whispered.

"Not like that. I meant, once I know… oh, never mind." I whispered. "Thanks for the blanket." I stood and started walking.

_Tenten. Come back soon…_ Sasuke turned and walked towards Konoha. Tears streamed from my eyes as I stood in front of a river.

_Neji. If you're really dead. Please, I want to join you. I don't want to live here all alone…_ I shut my eyes tightly. Please… come back to me. I kneeled and dropped the blanket into the water. "Please.. Come back." I whispered. "Oh. I love you so much." I looked into the water rippling, bubbles coming up from the sinking blanket. I stood and grabbed my chest. _It hurts to breathe… without you here._ I cried. "This can't be happening. This is all a nightmare. I can't wake up." I mumbled. I looked up and saw the moon looking back down at me. I bit my lip as I felt my heart throbbing in my chest.

It was worse. Heart break is worse than a gun shot. That's what I though. It hurts way more than being shot. Being shot, get it over with. Why'd you leave me, Neji? No. Why did I leave you. If I just stayed with you, you'd be with me right now. Holding me in your arms. Heart broken, it stays with you forever. You said that no one would hurt me, but you did, Neji. You're hurting me so much.

"Why can't I just go where you are, Neji? Why do people keep stopping me from being with you? What's wrong with us being together?" I asked. I knew no one would answer me. I cried. "Why can't they just let me go?" I asked. "What's wrong with me leaving?" All of a sudden I felt something go around my eyes. A blindfold. I screamed as I was pushed to the ground. "Who the hell are you…" I asked quietly. Just kill me already… "If you want to kill me, go ahead." I wasn't lying. Clearly, I just wanted my stupid life to just end.

"…"

"Just finish me up already. I don't want to stay in this world. I just want it all to end right now. He's gone. I want to be where he is." I whispered. I waited for the person to answer. I was pinned on my back for god sake. I had no idea who the person was. And the person was probably wondering why I wasn't moving.

"Why do you want to die?" Came a hoarse voice.

"To be with the one I love."

"He died?" The voice asked again.

"Yes." I whispered. No idea why I was telling this stranger, but I needed to tell someone. "So, please end my life here. If that's what you want." The person did not respond.

"You want to die?" The hoarse voice boomed back.

"Yes." I responded quietly. "I want it all to end. All of my pain to just disappear. I just need it all to end…"

"I'm afraid that won't happen…" The voice came out but softer.

"Then what do you want with me?" I asked. I was sort of a getting a little worried… that this person, might just… you know, rape me? I didn't move though. I guess I got that answer when I felt a cold pair of lips cover mine. Who the hell did this person think he or… oh god, SHE think they were? They can't come and kiss me like that. I tried to push away, but the kiss got rougher. The person pulled away and kissed me again. "Stop!" I screamed as I was lifted into the air and shoved against the tree.

"…."

"I-I don't even know you!" I screamed as my arms were raised above my head. I felt the person's hand travel across my cheek. "Stop it!!" I tried to kick in front of him to have him grab my leg and wrap it around his waist.

"Kiss me."

"Never!" I screamed. _Wh-Who the hell is this?!_

"Why not?" The voice came out, sadness?

"I… I don't even know you!" I screamed. "And besides! I have a boyfriend!"

"I thought you said the one you love is dead." I bit my lip.

"I don't care! I'll always be with him!!" I screamed.

"Then do him a favor and kiss me."

"I won't!" He kissed my jaw and whispered huskily into my ear.

"Why not?"

"I'm… in love with someone else!"

"Really?"

"Yes! So please… please, let me go…"

"…."

"Please!!" I cried loudly.

"How do you know he died?"

"I found his body!" I screamed. "Stop torturing me!" I cried as he put my leg down from around his waist. He pulled his mouth away from me and stroked my cheek.

"I don't think he's dead…"

"How the hell would you know?! I don't know you!" I screamed. "You know nothing!" I felt his lips on mine again, but it was more gentle.

"You know nothing… I don't think he died. In fact, I don't think he's gone." He let go of my wrists and I fell onto my knees in front of him. I reached to pull off the blind folds. I felt his hands on mine. I jerked away quickly but he grabbed my wrists. He slowly untied the blinds. My eyes took time to adjust to the light.

"Who are you…" I whispered.

"I'm hurt, Ten-chan…. Have you forgotten about me already?" The hoarse voice. It was..

"Neji?"

"…."

"You're…." Neji hugged me immediately.

**-No POV-**

_This… is real? It's real… right?_ Tenten froze on her knees. "N-Neji?" He nodded and took her hands. "I… thought you were…" Tenten's eyes watered. "I… I thought…" He then embraced her.

"I'm sorry…"

"Why? Why did you fake your death? Why didn't you tell me?" She cried in his arms.

"I didn't mean to worry you. I couldn't stand for a while, Tenten." He whispered.

"I missed you… so much." Tenten cried and kissed him fully on the lips and pulled away.

"You don't understand…. There really wasn't much I could do…"

"_Dammit. I gotta get out of here!" Neji cursed as he looked around for the exit. The building was collapsing._

"_DON'T! PLEASE, LET ME! NEJI IS STILL IN THERE! PLEASE!" Neji heard Tenten's voice. He bit his lips and ran his way out of the building right before it collapsed. He made a hole in the wall and got out, falling into the river behind the building. Tenten…. Neji thought before he was sent through the currents, dragged under the water._

"_D-Dammit!" Neji cursed._

_Later…_

"_Damn." Neji cursed as he pulled himself out of the river and flopped onto the grass. He panted heavily as the wounds were overwhelming him. "Shit.." He cursed and sat up. "Tenten…" And he started to walk. Walk towards the mansaion, walk towards Tenten._

"Neji.." Tenten continued to cry. "I thought I lost you. I thought I got damn lost you!" She cried louder into his chest. Neji held her close.

"I'm sorry for worrying you."

"I thought you died. I thought you left me. It was all my fault!! But…" She continued to cry.

"Why are you crying, Tenten? I'm alive…"

"I know, I know. I'm… crying because I'm happy." Tenten continued to cry and kissed Neji again and again. "I love you so much, and I know… that it's your mom's ring! And I'll marry you now if I have to!" He kissed her.

"No. We'll be married. Not right now, because we have to finish school."

"Th-Then the ring… it's for what?" Tenten stuttered.

"So no one can take you away from me…" Neji growled protectively and kissed her nose. "I love you, Tenten. I always want to be with you."

"Me too…" Tenten just kept on crying. "I never want to lose you. I want to be with you forever, Neji-kun." She nuzzled her face in the crook of his neck. "Reunited…" Tenten whispered.

"Forever."

"Please don't leave me again. I never want to lose you."

"I'll never… Tenten. I promise, never leave your side. I'll always be here…" The sun was rising. Tenten leaned on Neji's chest and held out her hand with the ring. Neji placed his hand underneath hers, fingers intertwined.

"Hiashi's gone." She whispered. Neji nodded.

"I know." He whispered back and kissed her hair. "He won't cause us anymore trouble."

"But… aren't you sad? That your uncle died?" Neji shook his head.

"As long as you're alive, my love. I want to protect you forever. I'll give up anything to be with you. Including my own life." He added in the last part. Tenten paused.

"No. Please. Don't ever think my life is worth more than yours…." Tenten said quietly to him. Neji nodded.

"What upsets me the most is breaking my promise with you. I killed Hiashi."

"It's okay. Don't promise me anything anymore." Tenten whispered to him as they watched the sun rise slowly in the skies. "You know, do you think… it's destiny, that brought me to you?" Neji was quiet and ignored it.

"I never would have met you… if I wasn't a hired killer. Never would have met the girl of my dreams if I killed you either, Tenten." He added in. Tenten smiled as a tear leaked out.

"Hiashi wanted you back for so long… so that he could continue to kill people. That's horrible…" Tenten whispered. Neji nodded. "Do you think it's destiny that brought me to you?" I asked and leaned against Neji's chest. He was silent, as I heard the loud thumping of his heart. His lovely heart beat was music to my ears. His heartbeat, one which I longed to hear for so long.

"Maybe." He whispered. "So is it destiny for me and you to head back to Konoha right now?" he asked. Tenten shook her head slightly and turned around to face Neji.

"I'm glad you're alive. And I'm glad that I met you…" Tenten whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. Neji, gave a genuine smile. She never saw him smile before… and well, he was smiling at her as he wiped the tear away with his thumb. He put both of his hands on her cheeks.

"Tenten. I'm glad I met you too. I don't know what life would be without you. You've changed me so much…" _If I didn't meet you, and if I killed you according to Hiashi's plans, then I probably would still be a hired killer, continuing to dirty my hands and stain them with blood and tears. I'd be a killing machine if I didn't meet you. I told you that, maybe it was fate that brought me to you… and I agree. Absolutely now. It was destiny that brought me to you._ Neji caressed her cheek gently and leaned in. "I love you, Tenten."

"I… love you too." Tenten cried again.

"You're a cry baby." Neji smirked.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm just… so happy." Tenten smiled through her tears. Like a rainbow in the sky parting the rain. Neji smiled and captured her lips.

**-**

**-**

**-**

**NEJI'S ALIVE! And NO. It's NOT the end yet! There is SO many things that need to be resolved!! Thanks so much for the reviews!!**

**(1)- Tenten and Ino still hate each other…  
****(2)- Everyone still thinks Neji's dead.  
****(3)- Sakura doesn't know anything about Neji.  
****(4)- Tenten didn't talk to Temari or her mother.  
****(5)- Neji needs to see Tenten's mom.  
****(6)- They need to finish high school and college.  
****(7)- Need to report Hiashi's death.  
****(8)- Neji and Tenten are engaged, and I need to write about them getting married. :D**

**So much to cover. what do you guys think? Should i make another fanfic about this stuff? Or do you think i could finish and cover all this in 2 more chapters? xD**

**Thanks for reading, everyone!**

* * *


	19. Chapter 19

**-Morning-**

Tenten slowly tried to sit up but felt a restrain on her waist. She looked up to see Neji still sleeping, his arms around her waist. She smiled and pecked his lips gently. His eyes fluttered open as he kissed back.

"Good morning, beautiful." He smirked and kissed her nose. Tenten laughed gently.

"Can you stand? Or are you still injured?" Neji shook his head.

"I'm fine." He stood up and took me with him. "Konoha…" He whispered. "I want to go back to Konoha."

"Wh-What? But, everyone thinks you're dead…"

"They don't know that for sure." Neji whispered back to her. Tenten nodded.

"I wanted to run away with you. I don't want to go back to Konoha… and face telling the truth to Sakura about **us.** And I don't… want to face my mother, Neji." Tenten fisted his shirt and leaned on him gently. Neji pulled her away and grabbed her by the shoulders. Tenten's eyes widened.

"Tenten. You have to go back.. We have to go back. We'll never be able to be together if we don't settle things now. Hiashi's dead. He's no longer in our way. But-"

"Alright." She muttered. She took his hand in hers, fingers intertwining. "I love you, Neji…" Neji smirked and kissed her forehead.

"I love you too…" He whispered and we were off to Konoha.

**-Meanwhile-**

"Where's my daughter?!" Tenten's mom slammed the table at Sasuke's house.

"I don't know." Sasuke muttered and leaned back.

"You went to look for her!!" She shouted. Sasuke nodded. Sakura walked out into the room and rubbed her eyes. She was still wearing her pajamas.

"Why's Tenten's mom over?" Sakura asked as she yawned. "Who's yelling?" She asked too. Tenten's mom sighed.

"Tenten. Sakura-chan… Where's my daughter?" She asked. Sakura paused and shook her head.

"I don't know. I'm sorry." Sakura apologized. Tenten's mom fled through the door.

"Sh-Shit!" Sasuke cursed. "She's gonna send the police to find her!!"

"What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked as she grabbed his arm. He growled angrily.

"Sakura… Tenten's out there looking for Neji. If… her mom knew about her looking for him, Tenten would be punished severely…" Sasuke looked at Sakura. "Get changed quickly. We're going after Tenten's mom. We can't have her talk to the police. Understand?" He turned around but Sakura was already gone. She came back out in a minute. She ran out the door and Sasuke followed.

"Please! Wait!" Sakura called to Tenten's mom who was heading towards the police station, also known as, the station next to the exit of Konoha.

"No!" Tenten's mom shouted as she ran. Sakura and Sasuke desperately ran after them. Shikamaru and Temari just walked out and they saw 3 people running.

"What?" Temari asked. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"Shikamaru-san." Tenten's mom reached him. In his hands were flyers with Tenten's picture on them. She smiled brightly. "Th-Thank you!!" She bowed slightly. Shikamaru nodded.

"She's missing. And she has to be found." Temari looked at Sasuke's angry face.

"Whatssa matter?" She asked and smirked.

"Shikamaru! You idiot!" Sasuke ignored Temari. Sakura looked away.

"She's missing. You're the idiot!" Shikamaru shouted at Sasuke. "How could you leave her out there?!"

"What?!" Tenten's mom shrieked as she turned to Sasuke.

"She… She wanted me to!" Sasuke growled. "I'm not going to say no to her!"

"What if she chose to die along with Neji?!" Temari screamed at them.

"She's smart not to!" Sakura shouted back. Tenten's mom started crying.

"She thinks Neji's still alive!" Sasuke growled.

"He's not! He's dead, Sasuke! Get it in your head!!" Shikamaru shouted.

"How could you say that?" Sasuke asked. "He's been there to save your freaking ass, and now you think **the** Neji Hyuga is dead?!"

"His body isn't found! He was burned to ashes!" Temari shouted as tears glinted in her eyes. "Tenten. She wants to be with Neji. Therefore… being Tenten…" She cried. Temari… was crying. Sakura then started to cry along with Temari.

"S-Sasuke-kun.. Temari's right.. Shikamaru's right." Sasuke turned sharply at Sakura.

"What?!"

"Tenten.. She's devoted to Neji. She would. She would kill herself to be with him!"

"Sakura…" Sasuke's face softened.

"Sasuke. You know it too. I can't believe you were so stupid!!" Shikamaru angrily crinkled a picture of Tenten in his hands. "You're such an idiot!!"

"Losing Neji's enough!!" Temari shouted. "Neji died! Why… Why Tenten?!"

"…" Sakura and Tenten's mom were crying. Sasuke was guilty. He felt totally guilty for his stupid mistake.

"**Who said I died?"**

The 5 of them turned. Sasuke's eyes widened along with Shikamaru's. Temari and Sakura stopped crying. Tenten's mom cleared her eyes with her sleeves and stared at **the** Neji Hyuga. Next to him….

"Tenten-chan!" Her mom called her. Sakura looked away and bit her lip.

"Tenten!" She screamed and ran to Tenten. She threw her arms around Tenten's neck and hugged her. "I thought you died. I'm.. I was so scared!" Tenten smiled gently and hugged Sakura back.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. Sakura looked at Neji and hugged him too. Neji slowly hugged her back.

"We all thought you died…" Sakura whispered at Neji. He shook his head as she pulled away.

"Never." Neji muttered back. As soon as Sakura pulled back Temari fled into Tenten's arms.

"Tenten! Why didn't you tell me anything?!" She shouted at her. Tenten looked down.

"Sorry… I didn't want you to worry." She whispered.

"Me to worry? What are you talking about?! Of course I was worried! I thought you were DEAD!" She paused. "I forgive you though…" She whispered to Tenten and went to hug Neji. "And you… You better stay alive. Don't die… don't fake. Tenten… she's devoted to your life. Her heart is yours. Please… don't waste your life.." Temari pulled away. Reunion. Once again. Shikamaru walked over to Tenten as she flung her arms around him. Shikamaru dropped all his papers of her and hugged her back.

"Tenten. Don't do that again. I was about to send people after you, and put up flyers."

"I don't want you to worry either." Shikamaru pulled away and stared at Neji.

"I can't believe you thought I died, man." Neji muttered and smirked. Shikamaru looked away and rubbed his head.

"Sorry…" Shikamaru then looked back at Neji. "Good thing you didn't die. Tenten wasn't the same without you." He whispered quietly. Neji punched Shikamaru slightly in the shoulder.

"Heh. I won't die." Shikamaru nodded and back away along with Temari and Sakura.

"Sasuke…" Tenten whispered as he stood ashamed. His head hung low. She slowly walked to him and placed her hand on his cheek. "Sasuke? Thank you so much.." He looked up.

"What? Why are you thanking me?" He asked and looked away. "You coulda died. Commit suicide to be with Neji." Tenten smiled and nodded.

"I was going along with that plan." Sasuke's eyes widened. Tenten shook her head. "But, I didn't. Neji… came back just in time. He found me…" She smiled. "What you did. I owe you so much… If you didn't leave me there… I wouldn't have found Neji. I'd always think he was dead, and I'd never be able to move on…" He looked down.

"I'm still sorry." Sasuke muttered. Tenten wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned on his chest gently.

"Don't be!!" She laughed slightly. "I'm really happy. You should be too." Tenten pulled away. "Neji's alive." Sasuke looked at Neji and looked down again.

"I-" Neji put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Thank you."

"What?" Sasuke seemed almost shocked. When did Neji Hyuga say thank you?

"Thanks. Without you.. I never would have found Tenten. And when I would try to find her, I would never succeed. Why? Because she'd be up in heaven looking for me, while I'd be down here on my own… down on earth without her to love." Neji smirked. "I know. I'm speaking a lot. I need to thank you… for bringing her to me. Sasuke…" Sasuke smirked.

"No problem…" He whispered. Tenten's mom fled over as she yelled at Tenten.

"Whats the matter with you?! No note? No message?!" She screamed.

"I'm sorry, mom. I knew… you wouldn't allow me to go…" Tenten whispered.

"Damn right!" She screamed. "How could you do this?! Why go after the man who killed your father and brother?! He killed them for god sake, Tenten! You should be glad that he's dead. We're going home right now!" She took Tenten's hand as she jerked away.

"No." She turned sharply and growled.

"What?"

"No, mom."

"Listen to me, Tenten!" She screamed. Tenten shouted back.

"No. You listen to me."

**-Tenten's POV-**

"What?"

"Listen to me, mom. I love Neji. You don't understand."

"Understand me, young lady, you-"

"No. You're the one who doesn't understand!!" I shouted at her. Neji glared at Shikamaru, Temari, Sasuke, and Sakura. They quickly ran off. "You don't understand ANYTHING about me, mom! I do care about Dad and brother. And I KNOW it was Neji who killed them! But he was ordered too!"

"I don't care. It is his own fault that he listened. If he had a good heart, then he would have decided to do the right thing and spare them."

"MOM!" I screamed. "You're… SO ignorant! Why can't you see?! Oh right! Cause you don't know!! Do you know how many times Neji's put his life on the line to save me? NO, you DON'T know!!" I growled. My blood was boiling in my veins. "You DON'T know!! He almost died protecting me! I was captured, kidnapped- MOM- and you know what?! Neji took a blow for me! In the fire… He allowed me to live! He was the one who kept taking blows. One after another from his Uncle. Hiashi.. He wanted Neji back to work for him!!" Neji looked away.

"Tenten-"

"I'm not done!! All this time. All this time… When Neji left me, when he told me he didn't love me… It wasn't because he didn't have a heart… it was because in his heart, all he ever thought about was me, mom. I know that because… he left me for my own sake. Hiashi threatened to kill me. Neji quickly separated himself from me, to pretend that I meant nothing to him. Therefore Hiashi wouldn't kill me. But… Hiashi found out after me and Neji saw each other again…. Neji has been… my knight, mom.. And I love him so much."

"He killed your father!! Your brother! Do they mean less to you than Neji?!" She screamed. I smiled.

"They're gone now, mom. They mean a lot to me. But they're the past. This is now. Sure, I still cry over them.. But I don't want to lose anyone else. Surely, mom… you know how it feels to lose someone." I whispered. Tears formed in her eyes. "You know how it feels to lose someone. I never want to lose Neji… you need to apologize to him."

"Never." She scowled.

"You HAVE to!" I screamed. Neji put his hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay." He whispered.

"No, it's not!" I screamed at him. Tears fled from my eyes. "You're sorry! You're so sorry for what you did!"

"I know.." Neji whispered again.

"She needs to forgive you!!" I screamed again. "She can't keep on hating you! It's not fair! It's not fair, Neji!" He took me into his arms. Neji nodded.

"I know. It's okay.." He said quietly. I pulled away.

"Mom. He's changed. Neji's different now. He's no longer a hired killer. He gave up everything to be with me. And if you… don't want to accept him, then I'm doing the same sacrifice. I'm going to give up everything I have to be with Neji. I'm going to give up everything to be with the one I love…." I whispered.

"What are you saying?" She asked.

"Neji asked me to marry him.." I said quietly. Her eyes widened with fury.

"You're not even done with high school!! You're 17 for god's sake!!" She screamed. I nodded.

"I know… after high school.. After college… I'm going to marry him. I love him, mom! I know you don't understand how I feel! But I don't need your confirmation! I'm going to marry Neji no matter what you say! Cause I love him! I want to be with him forever, and ever, mom…" I held my hand with the ring on it. She looked down.

"I lost you, my daughter." She whispered. I shook my head.

"You'll never lose me, mom. It's I… who have lost you." I whispered and looked away. Neji walked to my mom.

"…" He looked down and bowed his head low. "I'm so sorry." Her eyes widened.

"What's that?"

"I'm so sorry for what I did. Please, understand. I tried my hardest to say no. I knew what I was doing was wrong.. I'm sorry for continuing to do what I did. But when I met your daughter, she changed my life. I love her so much. I can not marry her without you saying yes to it. I need your forgiveness also. I beg of you. Please forgive me. I never.. In my life, have felt so guilty. It haunts me every night. I think about your son's pleading eyes whenever I look into Tenten's watering eyes. It hurts me dearly. I need to take this heavy weight off my shoulder…" Neji didn't look up. He kept his head bowed down, refusing to look up. "I promise to protect her with my life. I've done so, so many times…" Her eyes moved to his arm. Scars were in bedded into his arms. Many cuts shown.

"Neji.." I whispered his name.

"Neji-san…" My mom whispered his name. "Please look up." Neji slowly rose his head and looked at her. "I am so sorry." She bowed down to him.

"Please don't." He whispered. "I've done so many wrong things. I've killed so many people. I don't deserve your kindness. I thought being with Tenten.. Would help me so much in my life. I soon found out that I had fell in love with her. I fell in love with Tenten so much. She has changed my view in life, changed who I am right now. You may not forgive me, but I need to tell you this. **Your son and your husband… never in my life, have I ever felt when I… attacked them, have I ever felt uneasy about killing.** Then I met Tenten. I was suppose to kill her…" Neji admitted. My mom's eyes watered.

"…"

"I couldn't though." Neji whispered. "I loved her, I found out. I couldn't bring myself to kill her. She had changed who I was. She had became the most important person to me. More important than my own life. So please, allow me to marry her. And… please find a way, somehow to forgive me for everything I've done." Neji finished off. My mom looked down.

"Okay." She whispered.

"What?" I seemed shock and spun around and quickly faced her.

"I forgive you, Neji-san. And you may…. Marry my daughter. Only… if you promise to continue to protect her. And Neji-san.. After college only." She added on and smiled at him.

"Thank you." Neji had another genuine smile hit his face. A grin plastered on my face as I hugged my mom.

"Mom! Thank you so much! I love you!" I screamed and turned to Neji who had a grin form on his face too.

"Neji…" I jumped on him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. I kissed him passionately as he wrapped his arms around me. I laughed and kissed his cheek. "Oh, I've never been happier!!" I cried to him and kissed him again. Neji smirked at me and put me down.

"Well, get used to it. I'll make sure you never cry again. I'll never leave you. I'll always protect you, Mrs. Future-Hyuga." He grinned at me as I kissed him.

"Tenten? You're back.. And so's.. Neji.." I recognized that voice…

"Ino.." I growled. I was going to settle this, once and for all. Neji placed me down as I walked towards her. "Yo, **Miss. Bitchh**! I see you're out of the hospital." I smirked.

**-**

**-**

**-**

**-**

**I'm sorry it took so long to write… I've been busy with tests. I have two performances this weekend for kung fu. :( And lots of homework.**

** It's almost over. One more chapter I think. (Clings onto my computer and cries) Oh this series is too good to end!! ...Cries... :((**

**Enjoy! :D**


	20. Chapter 20

"Excuse me?!" I heard her shout. My smirk widened.

"Woah. They must've fixed that nose up really well. But, whatever happened to your hearing?" I asked. Ino growled at me. "Oh well. Your nose looks a lot better than it did before." I raised my shoulders and let out a shrug.

"Why you little-" She growled.

"Really. I don't know why we're fighting…" I whispered.

"What?!" She shouted loudly.

"Why do you hate me?" I asked. "I don't think I did anything to you. It's official that I don't love Shikamaru more than a friend. Ino… Shikamaru's dating Temari. He's happy, and if you love him enough, you should be happy too. If you love him, you should be happy because he's happy." She looked away.

"I hate you, you know…" She whispered. I raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you have to be such a wise ass crack?!" She screamed. "You always make people want to cry!" She screamed again and ran off.

"…" I sighed. "I once again, failed…" I whispered. Neji shook his head and rubbed my hand gently.

"Tenten never fails." He whispered into my ear as he kissed me. I looked at the beautiful ring on my finger and smiled at him. "School.." He whispered again. "We have to finish before you become a Hyuga…" I smiled gently and nodded. I heard a buzzing sound and saw Neji pick up his phone. "Lunch?" He asked me. I nodded. "Fine." Neji sighed and scratched his head. "Sasuke wants to eat lunch with us."

"Sakura too, right?" I asked. Neji nodded.

"Awesome!!" We walked into a restaurant and sat down. Time to tell Sakura. Everything. From where Neji was a hired killer and how he tried to kill me, to how he wasn't really dead after killing his uncle. Sakura's eyes widened incredibly as she stared at Neji who looked perfectly fine that his secrets he kept all his life were being spilled.

"S-S-Seriously?" Sakura asked. Neji paused and then nodded.

"Yes. I am… or was a hired killer." Neji muttered quietly. I nodded.

"I'm… so sorry, Sakura. I really wanted to tell you. But, I promised Neji I'd keep quiet. I'm so sorry…" I whispered. She smiled and shook her head.

"I'm just glad that I know. Anyways, wait-" She took my left hand. "What's… this?" She asked. Sasuke's eyes widened. "Tenten… What… is this?" She asked me again. I blushed brightly as she moved my hand to get a better view of it. "Oh my god. Tenten… is this… what I **think** it is?!" She asked as she grinned.

"S-Sakura…" I whispered her name.

"It's an ENGAGEMENT RI-" I put my finger to her lip.

"Shh…" I whispered, bright red. "Not so l-loud, Sakura…" She smiled real big and started squirming and hugging me tightly. "S-Sakura?!"

"I'm so happy for you!!" She screamed.

"Sh-Sh!" I said again. Neji looked away and crossed his arms over his chest. Sasuke grinned and leaned on his arm.

"Sooo…. You really asked her to marry you?" Sasuke asked. Neji spat.

"What of it?" Neji asked.

"A little early, aren't we?" Sasuke asked as Neji rolled his eyes. Sakura was hugging me so tight, I swear to god I couldn't breath… Neji finally nodded.

"After college…" Neji said quietly.

"REALLY?!" Sasuke asked. "That's really early! Aw man, Neji! You're moving right along here!"

"Shut up." Neji muttered.

**-No POV-**

"Seriously though, Neji. Cause you know, in no time, you'll be having little Hyuga babies." Sasuke grinned. Neji's eye twitched. "You have had se-"

"Don't!"

"…. before right?" Sasuke asked.

"Shut up. I don't have free time like you, you chicken-ass head." Neji cursed. Sasuke laughed.

"Well, me neither." He rolled his eyes. Tenten clung to Neji's arm.

"Help.." She muttered. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"**I wanna be a bride's maid! Yes. Yes yes! I'll help with your wedding! The theme will be peach colored! No pink!"** Yes. Sakura Haruno. She was spacing out. All of a sudden, she ran at Tenten and grabbed her hands in hers. **"Your DRESS…"** She grinned evily.

"S-Sakura! It's so long from now!" Ew. The thought of wearing a dress made Tenten shiver.

"Promise?" She asked. Tenten raised an eyebrow. "That I can help you?" Tenten sighed and nodded.

"I promise…" Tenten whispered. Sakura jumped into Sasuke's arms and hugged him. Sasuke smirked at Neji who just sighed. Tenten ran over to Neji too and hugged him. "School tomorrow?" She whispered in his ear. He smirked.

"But of course…" He whispered back. He ran his hand over hers. "Can I walk you home? Mrs. Future-Hyuga?" He asked and held his hand out to her. Tenten smiled.

"Sure." She smiled and took his hand. The two walked home quietly hand in hand. They didn't speak to one another. Until they got to Tenten's door step.

"Tenten…" Neji whispered to her and rubbed her hands gently.

"Y-Yeah?" She asked. Neji embraced her and nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck.

"Tell me who you love…" He whispered.

"You.." She whispered back to him. Neji smirked and kissed her neck gently.

"Who?" Neji asked again.

"Neji Hyuga." Tenten smiled as he brought his lips up and kissed her gently on the mouth again. "I love you, Neji. I want to be with you forever…" She whispered to him. Neji let out a small smile.

"I want to be with you forever too, my love." He kissed her passionately.

**-Tenten's POV-**

_**Hello there. Yeah, I'm Tenten. I'm engaged to Neji Hyuga. For a while actually. Well, I can't believe it was so long ago. That I met him.. That I found out who he was. That I found out… he was really a hired killer. Remembering everything now. Hiashi… my father and my brother's death. And well, Kano too. Also, how many times I was in danger, and how many times… that Neji put his life on the line to save me. Good times… right? They were good times. It wasn't too long ago. I'd like to keep thinking that… High school's over. Yeah. You heard me. I'm done with high school. Through. Done for. Never to return. To college. Yeah, the BIG school now…**_

"Hey, Neji…" I whispered quietly as I dragged my suit case with me. Neji ignored me. He continued to walk, no backpack in his hand, no quit case. Oh yeah, because we weren't gonna be at the same college. 4 years. I wouldn't see my love for 4 years. "Neji?" I called his name again. He turned around.

"How long… again?" He asked.

"What?"

"Until you visit?" He asked. I paused and shook my head.

"Probably not until 4 years are done…" I said quietly. Neji went cold as he stopped moving.

"All 4 years?" Neji asked me. I nodded.

"Yes. College is 4 years. And well, I can't go home. It'll be too far away.." I whispered. "To come back home for a day…" He nodded.

"I understand… Tenten…" He whispered my name. He turned sharply as I gasped. I dropped my suitcase handle as I was pounced on by Neji. I was under him as he pinned me tightly to the ground. "I love you so much…" He whispered against my jaw. I started to cry.

"I-I love you too!" I kissed him gently. "I'm… going to miss you so much… Neji…" I whispered. He pulled me up and kissed me roughly again.

"Tenten. Promise me… that-"

"I'll call you everyday! I promise! I'll send you letters, I'll email you!" I whispered and kissed him again. He nodded.

"Yes. And… please… don't fall in love with anyone while you're gone…." He whispered against my cheek. I nodded.

"I promise! You too, okay?" He took my hand in his and nodded.

"Promise…" He rubbed my hand gently and kissed the top of the ring. "Don't lose it.." I shook my head.

"I promise I won't!" I took my hand from him and looked up at him. He had a small tear roll down his eyes.

"D-Dammit. I didn't think that we were going to be separated for so long. I'm not sure I can handle it.." He whispered. I shrugged and smiled at him.

"We have to try…" I whispered. "You got into a good college, Neji…. The best one, in Konoha. The best college all around. Well, I just wasn't good enough." I added in. "So I'm going to the one in Sunagakure…" I grinned. "It'll be fine. Temari's in my college, so it'll be cool." Neji shook his head.

"Remember. You're mine alone…" He whispered. I nodded.

"I know. And.. You're mine, okay?" I whispered back at him. One last kiss… we shared. It was the last kiss for a while. I wanted my lips and his to stay together like this forever. But, my ride was going to leave without me… Temari honked the car and I ran. Leaving my love behind…

_**I began to miss him so much. It was about a week. I already had exams and tests. And I kept my promise. Many boys asked me out and tried to seduce me… I turned them all down. I also kept the other promise. I called him everyday, I emailed him, I sent him letters… and it sounded like.. Neji missed me more than I missed him…**_

**-Neji's POV-**

"Neji. How are you?" Tenten's voice came from the other line. I was silent.

"I'm fine. How are you?" I asked back. Lame.

"Um. I'm okay…."

"How's your school?" I asked. Tenten was silent and then I heard a mumble. "Tenten?"

"It's okay. It's really hard for me. Even though, these kind of things would probably be super easy for you anyways…. How's your school? Did you find anyone else in it? In my school, Gaara's in it too. So I have Temari and Gaara!"

"That's good…" I whispered. I liked the cheerfulness in her voice. It made me…. Happy. "School's easy. Not much tests or anything. Homeworks a piece of cake.." I said quietly. "Shikamaru, Sakura, and Sasuke made it to the school…" I added. I didn't want to make her feel bad…. "But don't worry, I know you can-"

"It's okay. I wouldn't want to go to the school in Konoha."

"What?!" I almost sounded shocked. Well, that's because I was…

"I'm sorry. I don't want it to sound that way. I really like my school." Tenten whispered. I nodded.

"Okay. I love you, Tenten. Are you sure there isn't any time for you to come and visit?" I asked.

"No. I have a lot to work to do. Do you think you could come and visit me?" She asked. I shook my head.

"I have a lot to do too. I have some upcoming tests. I'm sorry.." I whispered.

"No worries! Winter break! I know I said, that I wouldn't be able to see you…. And than until I was fully done with college… but, I promise! During my winter break I'll come back!"

"Okay." I whispered.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too, Tenten." We hung up.

**-Tenten's POV-**

_**Winter break went by too fast. But I did find time to go to Konoha and visit my friends and family. Neji too… It was great seeing him again, great kissing him again, great… just touching his face. And… looking into his beautiful eyes… College went by too fast. SAT's, and everything. Went by. Bam. And now? I'm on my way home. Diploma and all. No more school. No more class. Maybe a job. But, my mind wasn't focusing on a job at the moment. Sure I was happy. But not because I finished college, but because I was going to see Neji. And I was going to marry him.**_

**-Konoha-**

"Tenten! I'm so proud of you!!" My mom hugged me. I took off my white hat and smiled.

"Thanks, mom."

"I'll take your stuff into the house, dear." She grabbed my suit case from my hand and took my white hat. She put it in the house as I let my hair down. It was a while since I saw him after all. Since the freshman winter break in college, I haven't seen Neji since. I had to stay in school and study. So many exams… I walked along the park and walked past my high school. Memories… I looked to the side of the building. The side where I broke Ino's nose. I laughed. That was great… I walked along the path way until I reached the clearing. Where I could see the sky…. Where I could watch the clouds.. I breathed in deeply and sighed. "This place…."

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" That voice. I turned around to see Neji leaning against the tree. He was so grown up. He was wearing a tank top that exposed his well built muscular arms. His hair tied back in a loose pony tail. "You've grown, Tenten…" I smiled.

"Neji…" I whispered his name. Tears started to fly. "Oh, Neji!!" I cried and ran at him. He opened his arms and welcomed me. How I missed that feeling. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him so roughly I felt my lips were going to crack. He kissed me back equally roughly.

"Tenten…. I love you. I missed you a lot too…" He whispered. He got on his knees. "Tenten. Please… marry me…" Neji whispered. I bit my lip. And smiled.

"Neji. You asked me that before!" I blushed. I pointed to the ring. "And yes! I'll say yes, and yes! Over and over! It'll always be my answer!" I cried and jumped into his arms.

"What's your answer?" He asked.

**-**

"I do!" I smiled at Neji. We kissed and then the crowd applauded. My mom was crying. So was Sakura and Temari. Shikamaru and Sasuke were smiling. Even Kakashi-sensei was there. I pulled away and started crying.

"What's the matter, my love?" Neji asked as he brought a hand to wipe away the tears.

"I'm so happy… I'm… so happy… really, Neji." He hugged me.

"Everything will be fine from here out. Nothing will come between us. I promise. It's just going to be me and you."

"Just me and you?" I asked in his arms.

"Maybe kids…" He whispered. I smiled.

"I love you so much." I whispered. "I can't believe we're here today…"

"Me neither… but, I love you, and you know it, Mrs. Hyuga.." Neji kissed my forehead. I continued to cry again. "Don't cry, Tenten…" He whispered.

"I told you. I'm happy. I'm crying, because I'm happy!" He swooped me up in his arms. He walked out of the church and we walked into the limo. He set me down on the seat and took me into his arms.

"I'm happy too, Tenten.." He let a tear slide out as he brought his lips down on me. We'd be together.

That kiss sealed up everything. All that's happened, it's all closed. Neji trying to kill me in the beginning, him the hired killer, me the target, our journey to get Hiashi, it's all over… We're married. It's the end…. In most stories, they say, and they lived happily ever after. And you never hear from them again. Well, we lived happily ever after.

But.. It IS the end….

_**For now that is….**_

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**IT'S OVER!! :( I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did… :D**

**Please review!**

**Thanks so much for reading my story. Both Target: Tenten and this one…. Thank you!**


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